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JUL  1 1 2006 


THE 
TRACKMAN'S    HELPER 

A  HAND  BOOK  FOR  TRACK  FOREMEN, 
SUPERVISORS  AND  ENGINEERS 

1917  EDITION 

REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 
BY 

RICHARD  T.   DANA     and      A.   F.   TRIMBLE 


Mem,  Am.  Soc.  C.  E. 
Mem.  Am.  Soc.  E.  C. 
Mem.    A.    I.    M.   E. 


Mem.  Am.  Ry.  Eng.  Assn. 
Mem.  Eng.  Soc.  N.  E.  Penna. 


AFTER  THE  ORIGINAL 
BY 

J.   KINDELAN 

of  the  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Ry. 
AS  REVISED  BY 

F.  A.  SMITH 

F.  R.  COATES 

and 

JERRY  SULLIVAN 

ILLUSTRATED 


»?3U^A7rA  2ook  % 


NEW  YORK 

1917 


Copyright,  1917 

By  Clark  Book  Co.,  Inc. 

New  York 


K5lt 

PREFACE 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  help  the  MAN  ON 
THE  TRACK  by  giving  him  in  the  most  convenient 
form  the  practical  results  of  observation  and  study 
of  track  work  on  the  railroads  of  the  United  States 
for  the  last  twenty  years,  in  addition  to  the  notes  that 
were  published  in  1894  by  the  late  J.  Kindelan. 

The  original  book  has  been  entirely  rewritten  and 
brought  up  to  date,  the  illustrations  redrawn  and  a 
great  many  new  ones  made.  A  very  large  quantity 
of  brand  new  material  has  been  added  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  authors  and  from  the  files  of  the  tech- 
nical journals,  which  have  been  carefully  searched 
for  the  purpose. 

We  have  kept  constantly  in  mind  the  following 
points  that  are  necessary  in  a  practical  book  of  this 
kind,  namely : — 

(1)  It  must  cover  the  principal  field  of  a  track- 
man's work. 

(2)  It  must  not  waste  space  by  going  outside  of 
that  field. 

(3)  It  must  avoid  elaborate  theories,  which  he  has 
not  the  time  to  investigate. 

(4)  Its  language  must  be  plain  enough  to  be  read- 
ily understood. 

(5)  It  must  be  small  enough  to  be  carried  in  his 
pocket. 

(6)  Its  price  must  be  within  his  means. 

In  writing  this  volume  our  final  aim  has  been  to 
enable  each  man  who  uses  it  to  become  of  the  greatest 
possible  value  to  the  company  that  employs  him. 
Richard  T.  Dana  and  A.  F.  Trimble. 

New  York,  November,  1916. 

371942 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I       COTNSTBUCTION            1-42 

II     Spiking   and   Gaging .  43-66 

III  General  Spring  Work 67-74 

IV  Drainage .  75-85 

V     Summer  Track   Work 86-115 

VI     Cutting   Weeds 116-119 

VII     Ballasting 120-141 

VIII     Renewal  of  Rails 142-156 

IX  Effects  of  the  Wave  Motion  of  Rail  on 

Track  Rail  Movements 157-179 

X     General  Fall  Track  Work 180-184 

XI     Building    Fences 185-208 

XII     General  Winter  Work 209-216 

XIII  Bucking  Snow 217-220 

XIV  Laying  Out  Curves 221-225 

XV    Elevation  of  Curves 226-237 

XVI     Lining   Curves 238-241 

XVII  Special  Conditions  on  Mountain  Roads    ,  242-254 

XVIII     Frogs  and  Switches 255-288 

XIX  Use  and  Care  of  Track  Tools     ....  289-314 

XX    Tie  Plates 315-323 

XXI    Wrecking 324-329 

XXII     General   Instructions 330-363 

XXIII  Practical  Hints  for  Trackmen  ....  364-380 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


CONSTRUCTION 

Requirements  of  new  track.  A  good  railroad 
should  be  complete  in  all  respects.  In  its  construction 
nothing  should  be  omitted  that  may  contribute  to- 
wards making  it  safe  and  economical  for  operation. 
It  should  be  full-bolted,  spiked,  well  ballasted,  sur- 
faced, lined,  and  gaged.  A  poor  track  bears  about  the 
same  relation  to  a  railroad  that  a  shanty  does  to  a 
house,  and  trackmen  who  are  in  the  habit  of  doing 
poor  work,  with  means  at  hand  to  do  better  work, 
never  learn  how  to  do  good  work. 

Track  laying.  The  best  dirt  ballasted  track  can  be 
made  by  bedding  the  ties  to  a  level  surface  across 
their  tops  before  putting  on  the  rails.  To  do  this 
engineers  must  first  set  grade  stakes,  which  are  usu- 
ally placed  100  ft.  apart.  For  very  accurate  work 
they  may  be  set  every  25  ft.  if  the  engineers  have  time, 
which  seldom  happens.  The  ties  can  then  be  set  be- 
tween the  25  ft.  stakes  with  strings. 

Track  laying  machines.  These  have  been  used  to 
a  considerable  extent  in  buildijig  new  roads  and  are 
elsewhere  quite  fully  described  in  this  volume  with 
cost  data  of  their  operation.  The  amount  of  track 
laid  each  day  must  always  be  limited  to  what  can  be 
bolted  and  spiked  safe  for  trains  between  the  forward 
moves  of  the  machine.  The  secret  of  success  in  lay- 
ing track  in  this  manner,  just  as  in  all  cases  involving 

large  operations,  lies  in  the  proper  preparation  and 

1 


THE  TRACIvJMAN'S  HELPER 


the  accurate  organization  of  the  entire  work.  In  the 
United  States  to-day,  the  vast  bulk  of  track  work  con- 
sists of  re-laying  under  conditions  that  are  not  suitable 
for  track  machine  work. 

Tools  and  material  for  track  laying.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  list  of  tools  ordinarily  required  on  construc- 
tion work  for  track  laying  and  ballasting  where  100 
men  are  employed: 


Hand    Cars     2 

Push    Cars    2 

Track  Shovels  (#1  Flat)  .100 

Shovels,    Round    Pointed.    24 

"         Long   Handled .  .     6 

Picks    50 

Lining    Bars     12 

Claw   Bars    12 

Tamping    Bars     12 

Nipping   Bars    12 

Cold    Chisels    24 

Rail  Punches 6 

Chopping  Axes    6 

Hand  Axes   6 

Adze   Handles    24 

Axe  "  6 

Spike    Maul    Handles ....   36 

Red    Flags    12 

Sledges,    16   pound  each . .     2 
"        12        "         "      .  .     2 

Grind  Stone   1 

Track  Wrenches    24 

Rail  Tongs    12 

Rail  Forks    6 

Expansion   Shims    200 

Switch  Locks  6 

Rail  Drills    2 

Torpedoes,  dozens   4 

Spike  Mauls 36 

Bush  Scythes  and  Snaths, 

each    6 

Hand  Saws  6 

Adzes    12 

Track  Gages   12 

Spirit  Levels    4 


Tape  Lines   4 

Claw  Hammers    2 

Monkey    Wrenches    18"...  2 

12"...  2 

Lanterns,  Red    6 

White    6 

Water  Pails   6 

Tin  Diapers    12 

Oil  Cans    2 

Oilers     2 

Gallons  of  Oil   2 

Xails,    each    of    lOd,    20d, 

40d,    60d    Keg 

Pick    Handles    24 

Track    Jacks    #1 4 

#6 2 

Rail  Benders    2 

Covered    Water    Barrels .  .  2 

Chalk  Lines    2 

Files 6 

Crosscut  Saws   2 

Post-hole  Diggers   2 

114 -inch  rope    300  feet 

Tie  Poles,  30  feet  long   . .  2 

Tie  Gages   4 

Set  Double  Harness   1 

Set  Single  Harness 1 

Set    of    Double    and    Sin- 
gle Trees,   each 1 

Wagon    1 

Scrapers    2 

Horses  or   Mules    2 

Tool    Boxes    2 

Wheelbarrows    12 

Trackbarrows   6 


CONSTRUCTION  3 

The  above  list  of  tools  will  do  to  supply  an  average 
gang  of  100  men  employed  on  tracklaying  and  ballast- 
ing with  a  surplus  to  equip  extra  men  if  required,  or 
replace  tools  out  of  repair  or  broken,  until  supplies  or- 
dered can  be  secured. 

-The  accommodations  for  tracklaying  should  be 
about  as  follows : 

One  supply  and  office  car. 

One  kitchen  car. 

Two  dining  cars. 

Ten  sleeping  cars. 

Where  tracklaying  is  done  at  a  long  distance  from 
the  base  of  supplies  a  blacksmith  with  forge  and  tools 
should  accompany  the  outfit. 

Blacksmith  shop  outfit.  Tools  necessary  for  a 
blacksmith  shop  suitable  for  drill  and  general  repair 
work  are  given  in  Dana's  "Handbook  of  Construc- 
tion Plant, ' '  as  follows  : 

1  anvil,    130  lbs $13.00 

2  augers,  ship,   1%,  $1,  1-1",  $1.20    2.20 

2  bevels,   universal    2.50 

1  brace  and  13  auger  bits,  i/4  to  1",  in  roll 5.50 

1  caliper,    micrometer    6.00 

4  calipers,  spring,  at  $1    4.00 

6  chisels  cold,  12  lbs.  at  50(^    6.00 

4  diisels,  hot,  8  lbs.  at  50(J    4.00 

1  cutter  for  pipe  up  to  3"   , 4.80 

1  drill,  stationary,  hand  power,  14  to  1^4  hole,  weighs 

170  lbs.    .  . ' 22.00 

1  drill,   breast    3.00 

6  drill  dollies  10.00 

24  files,  assorted,  at  $8  per  doz 16.00 

24  files,  flat,  at  $8  per  dozen   16.00 

12  files,  small  taper .60 

24  files,  triangular,  at  $7  per  dozen 14.00 

1  grindstone,  foot  power,  3"  x  12''  wheel 4.00 

1  gauge,    marking     2.00 

4  heading  tools,  l^/o  lbs.  each   3.00 

3  hammers,    blacksmith     2.70 

3  hammers,    set     1.50 

4  hardies  at  50^   lb , 2.00 


4  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

2  pails  at  70^    $  1.40 

6  rasps,  at  $12  per  doz.    .  . 6.00 

1  rule,   6   ft.   folding    40 

1  saw,  crosscut,  hand,  26"    1.35 

1  saw    set     .70 

2  saws,  hack,  at  $1    2.00 

4  shanks     2.00 

1  sledge,  double  face,  5  lbs 1.50 

2  sledges,  double  face,  7  lbs.  each  4.20 

1  sledge,  cross   pein,   5   lbs 1.50 

2  sledges,  cross  pein,  4  lbs.  each    2.80 

2  squares    at    $9     18.00 

1  stock  and  8  dies  for  W'  to  2"  pipe   . 17.50 

8  swedges,  bottom,  1  lb.  each   2.00 

8  swedges,  top,   1   11).  each    2.00 

9  tongs,     assorted     12.00 

1  vise,  blacksmith's  leg,  6i/4"    20.00 

1  vise,  hinged,  for  pipe,  %"  to  3" 3.15 

$243.30 

Tie  bedding.  This  work  consists  in  placing  a 
straight  edge  in  a  level  position  over  the  tops  of  loose 
ties  lying  on  the  sub-grade,  and  bringing  up  each  tie 
to  a  uniform  surface  under  the  straight  edge,  just  as 
it  should  be  in  track  under  rails.  Thin  ties  should 
have  ballast  thrown  under  them  and  be  settled  to  the 
correct  level.  The  bed  under  thick  ties  should  be 
dug  out  and  the  dirt  removed  sufficiently  to  bring 
the  tie  down  to  the  level  of  the  other  ties.  One 
straight  edge  should  be  provided  for  every  two  men 
of  the  tie  bedding  gang.  With  dirt  from  the  em- 
bankment, the  thick  ties  should  always  be  bedded  be- 
fore laying  the  rails,  because  the  grade  is  seldom  a 
smooth  surface  to  receive  the  ties;  the  ties,  no  matter 
how  well  selected,  Yary  in  thickness,  and  it  is  well 
known  that  the  rails  laid  on  loose  ties  and  uneven 
grade  will  be  kinked  and  surface  bent  by  trains  run- 
ning over  the  track  before  it  is  surfaced  up  smooth 
and  level.  Another  good  point  in  favor  of  tie  bed- 
ding is  that  the  rails  can  be  laid  faster  th^n  over 


CONSTRUCTION  5 

loose  ties,  and  the  spiking  can  be  better  done  with 
less  labor. 

Engineers  should  call  the  attention  of  the  con- 
tractor to  inequalities  or  poor  surface  of  grade.  It 
is  much  easier  and  cheaper  to  make  a  good  grade 
with  teams  and  scrapers  than  with  shovels. 

The  general  practice  now  is  to  follow  up  with  bal- 
lasting practically  as  fast  as  the  rails  are  laid  and 
with  hopper  and  ballast  cars  that  enable  the  distri- 
bution of  the  material  used  in  ballasting  just  as  it  is 
needed.  Tie  bedding  is  done  sparingly  and  only  to 
the  extent  of  getting  the  track  laid  so  that  it  will 
carry  a  work  train  for  a  trip  or  two,  "to  drag  the 
track"  full  of  ballast  or  perhaps  get  a  few  cars  of 
steel  ahead  for  the  rail  laying  gang. 

Track  laying*.  There  should  be  a  good  foreman 
in  charge  of  the  track  laying  gang  and  he  should 
keep  general  oversight  of  the  work  and  keep  the  men 
properly  proportioned  to  the  work  of  distributing 
ties,  laying  rail,  and  spiking  and  gaging.  For  each 
of  these  three  classes  of  work  an  assistant  foreman 
should  be  employed  who  will  be  in  direct  charge  and 
hurry  the  work  along.  The  general  foreman  should 
see  that  the  work  is  properly  done,  and  help  out  the 
sub  gang  that  he  sees  is  getting  behind,  making  such 
change  in  the  proportion  of  men  alloted  to  each  as  he 
sees  is  for  the  best  to  keep  the  work  in  the  different 
lines  advancing  continuously  and  at  the  same  rate 
of  speed.  If  the  laborers  employed  are  foreigners  it 
is  well  to  have  assistant  foremen  who  can  speak  their 
language.  The  general  foreman,  while  he  may  be 
competent,  cannot  look  after  all  the  details  and  keep 
a  large  gang  of  men  working  to  advantage.  It  is 
money  well  spent  to  have  sufficient  assistant  foremen, 
who  should  be  held  responsible  for  having  all  neces- 
sary tools  at  hand  when  wanted  and  for  carrying  on 
the  work  assigned. 


«  THE  TRACKJSIAN'S  HELPER 

Locating  joint  ties.  Two  men  should  be  delegated 
to  carry  a  measuring  pole  of  the  correct  length  of  a 
rail  for  locating  the  joint  ties  ahead  of  the  rails. 
These  men  should  space  the  ties  on  each  side  of  the 
joint  wherever  necessary;  they  should  also  adze 
twisted  ties  and  bed  down  those  that  are  too  high. 
The  joint  ties  should  not  be  located  very  far  ahead 
of  the  rail,  because  there  is  likely  to  be  variation  in 
the  distances,  and  the  measurements  taken  with  the 
pole  should  occasionally  be  corrected  from  the  ends  of 
the  rails.  The  track  laying  is  delayed  and  the  ties 
are  seldom  so  well  spaced  when  the  work  is  left  to 
the  spikers. 

Tie  gage.  The  two  men  who  look  after  the  loca- 
tion of  the  joint  ties  can  also  mark  the  location  of  the 
base  of  the  rail  on  each  tie  by  means  of  the  tie  gage, 
which  is  a  template  or  stick  that  should  always  be  on 
hand  for  this  purpose.  Its  use  is  explained  more 
fully  and  an  illustration  of  it  given  in  Chapter  V 
under  ''Renewal  of  Ties."  This  marking  of  the 
position  of  the  rails  requires  only  very  little  time  and 
should  always  be  done,  as  it  saves  much  valuable  time 
for  the  spikers  in  getting  the  tie  quickly  adjusted  to 
its  proper  position. 

Laying  the  rails.  A  construction  foreman  should 
see  that  no  new  rails  are  laid  in  track  before  all 
kinked  and  crooked  places  in  the  rails  are  straight- 
ened. It  has  been  a  common  fault  when  in  a  hurry  to 
spike  down  all  rails  just  as  they  come,  regardless  of 
any  kinks  that  may  have  been  put  in  them  while  in 
transit  or  in  unloading  them  from  cars.  Many  light- 
weight rails  are  irreparably  damaged  in  this  way, 
and  after  such  rails  are  put  in  a  track  they  are  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  made  perfect  again,  as  very  few  sec- 
tion foremen  have  the  necessary  amount  of  help  or 
spare  time  to  do  what  can  be  done  in  the  very  short 
time  before  the  rails  are  laid.     The  foreman  should 


CONSTRUCTION  7 

see  that  the  rails  are  so  laid  that  no  joint  will  come 
within  ten  feet  of  the  end  of  any  bridge  or  road  cross- 
ing where  this  can  be  avoided.  For  this  purpose  it 
is  the  practice  of  some  roads  now  to  furnish  double 
length  rails,  i.e.,  60  ft.  or  66  ft.  long,  which  are  in  most 
cases  sufficient  to  clear  the  travelled  road  with  a 
single  length  and  thus  eliminate  an  endless  amount  of 
trouble  on  maintenance.  It  is  also  a  good  plan  Lo 
lay  long  rails  at  station  platforms  where  it  is  difficult 
to  resurface  joints  on  account  of  the  track  being  filled 
in  to  the  top  of  the  rails  or  planked  over  as  at  road 
crossings ;  and  on  bridges,  in  addition  to  getting  easier 
riding  qualities,  there  is  a  great  amount  of  shock  saved 
to  the  bridge  structure  by  the  elimination  of  half  of 
the  joints.  When  placing  the  order  for  new  rails 
there  is  no  particular  difficulty  in  figuring  out  how 
many  long  rails  are  necessary  to  meet  these  condi- 
tions. 

Expansion  and  contraction.  "When  laying  rails 
care  should  be  taken  to  provide  the  proper  spaces  at 
the  joints  for  expansion.  If  they  are  laid  with  too 
close  joints  in  cold  weather  they  expand  and  close  up 
all  the  openings  as  the  weather  becomes  warmer  until 
finally,  when  there  is  no  further  room  for  expansion 
as  the  heat  increases,  the  track  becomes  kinked  out  of 
line  or  ''buckled."  This  is  an  extreme  condition 
and  is  disastrous  when  it  occurs  ahead  of  a  train,  as 
sometimes  happens,  causing  a  derailment. 

The  effect  of  expansion  of  the  rails  is  most  notice- 
able on  a  line  of  track  that  is  only  partially  ballasted 
and  filled  between  the  ties,  or  where  track  has  been 
laid  down  without  any  particular  ballast.  This  effect 
may  exist  only  to  the  extent  of  making  each  indi- 
vidual rail-length  of  track  "wavy,"  and  slight  kinks 
can  be  noticed  at  the  joints,  but  it  is  something 
to  be  guarded  against.  When  the  rails  are  crowded 
togethel*  tightly  so  that  there  is  no  room   for   ex- 


8  THE  TRACKIVIAN'S  HELPER 

pansion  in  forty  or  fifty  rail  lengths,  it  is  time  for 
the  section  foreman  to  take  it  in  hand.  He  should 
either  bump  the  rails  back  if  there  is  opening  to  do 
so,  or  cut  a  few  inches  from  a  rail  in  the  center  of  the 
tight  track  and  bump  the  adjoining  rails  to  divide 
up  the  opening  so  obtained  throughout  a  number  of 
rail  lengths  either  way.  In  cutting  a  rail  for  this 
purpose  it  is  best  to  cut  from  the  end  an  amount  equal 
to  the  distance  between  the  first  and  second  bolt  holes, 
or,  in  other  words,  have  it  so  that  the  second  bolt  hole 
will  move  up  to  take  the  place  of  the  one  cut  off. 

"Contraction"  is  a  shrinking  or  shortening  of 
the  rails,  and  is  caused  by  cold  weather.  The  con- 
traction of  the  rails  increases  with  the  severity  of  the 
cold,  and  by  this  process  the  openings  in  the  joints 
between  the  rails  are  enlarged. 

Sometimes  in  the  winter  the  contraction  is  so 
great  that  where  the  rails  were  not  properly  laid  the 
track  is  torn  apart,  joint  splices  are  broken,  and  open- 
ings between  the  rails  are  so  much  increased  as  to 
render  the  track  extremely  dangerous  for  trains  un- 
less discovered  in  time  and  repaired. 

Too  much  space  at  the  joints  also  affects  the  wear- 
ing qualities  of  the  rails,  the  openings  at  the  joints  be- 
ing so  large  that  the  wheels  batter  their  ends,  and 
they  wear  out  and  have  to  be  taken  out  of  service 
much  sooner  than  would  be  the  case  with  rails  of  the 
same  quality  if  laid  with  the  proper  spacing. 

The  table  to  be  used  for  securing  the  proper  space 
for  expansion  is  given  in  Chapter  VIII  under  "Al- 
lowance for  Expansion." 

Expansion  shims  should  be  made  of  narrow,  flat 
iron  or  steel,  and  bent  so  that  one  end  will  rest  on 
top  of  the  rail  when  in  place.  The  shim  can  thus  be 
easily  removed  and  used  again  after  a  piece  of  track 
is  laid,  and  all  the  bolts  then  tightened  up  on  the 
joint  fastenings. 


CONSTRUCTION  ,  9 

A  ten-penny  common  steel  nail,  if  bent  at  right 
angles,  makes  a  cheap  and  handy  expansion  shim 
when  no  others  are  provided.  It  may  be  used  at  al- 
most any  temperature  above  the  freezing  point,  by  re- 
versing the  end  and  flattening  the  head  of  the  nail. 
Expansion  shims  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  be- 
tween the  ends  of  the  rails  after  a  piece  of  track  has 
been  laid  and  the  joint  fastenings  made  secure. 

When  laying  old  rails  make  the  same  allowance  for 
expansion  as  when  laying  new  ones. 

Creeping  rail.  Aside  from  the  movement  of  the 
rail  due  to  expansion  and  contraction  above  referred 
to,  it  is  very  likely  to  be  moved  by  the  wave  motion 
which  exists  when  the  wheel  passing  over  a  track 
comes  in  contact  with  the  rail;  the  rails  are  shoved 
ahead,  on  double  track  with  the  current  of  traffic,  and 
on  single  track  usually  in  the  direction  of  the  heavier 
traffic,  but  if  there  is  a  heavy  grade  the  track  may 
move  down  grade  with  the  direction  of  the  lighter 
traffic.  This  force  is  often  great  enough  to  pull  the 
slot  spikes  and  move  the  joints  ahead  of  the  joint  ties, 
and  ties  are  slewed  around  and  shoved  ahead  with 
such  force  as  to  churn  up  the  ballast  ahead  of  them. 
As  a  result,  the  rails  are  crowded  ahead  and  the  space 
allowed  for  expansion  on  account  of  temperature  is 
all  closed  up  perhaps  pulling  apart  a  joint  just  as 
would  occur  in  case  of  contraction  in  severe  winter 
weather  when  the  proper  spacing  has  not  been  made 
in  laying  the  rails  as  above  explained. 

To  counteract  this  effect  it  is  necessary  to  apply 
anti-rail-creepers  or  ''rail  anchors"  as  they  are  called. 
There  are  a  number  of  good  ones  on  the  market  today 
such  as  the  P.  &  M.,  the  Vaughan,  the  Dinklage  Creep- 
check,  etc.,  shown  and  described  in  Chapter  IX. 

The  number  of  rail  anchors  necessary  is  something 
that  varies  with  the  particular  conditions.  The  dia- 
grams  following    show   the    manner    in   which   they 


10 


THE  TRACKAIAN'S  HELPER 


should  be  applied  and  the  number  used  to  resist  the 
creeping.  AVhere  the  tendency  to  creeping  is  light 
two  per  rail  may  answer  the  purpose,  four  where 
medium,  and  six  per  rail  where  heavy  creeping  is  en- 
countered. 

Unloading  and  loading  rails.  To  avoid  damage  to 
rails  by  dropping  them  on  hard  ground  or  ballast  it 
is  best  to  unload  them  by  derrick  or  other  mechanical 
means.  The  American  Rail  Loader,  shown  in  Fig. 
2,  is  an  excellent  machine  for  this  work.  It  can  be 
run  on  its  own  wheels  over  a  string  of  flat  cars  and 
the  rails  picked  up  by  means  of  a  clamp  which  is 
readily  fastened  to  the  rail  near  the  center,  the  opera- 
tion being  by  a  long  air  cylinder  supplied  with  com- 
pressed air  from  the  train  line,  the  operator  simply 
turning  a  valve  to  raise  or  lower  his  load  as  desired. 
Only  a  small  force  of  men  is  employed  when  handling 
rails  in  this  way,  one  to  operate  the  machine  and  six 
others,  three  in  a  car  to  get  the  rails  ready  and  ad- 
just the  clamp,  and  three  on  the  ground  to  move  the 
boom,  land  the  rail  and  remove  the  clamp.  To  handle 
rails  in  this  way  requires,  of  course,  a  work  train  or 
engine  to  supply  air.  The  boom  is  so  designed  that 
when  the  flat  car  upon  which  it  is  located  is  coupled  to 
a  gondola  car  the  clamp  will  come  right  for  the  center 
of  the  car  and  rails  can  be  loaded  or  unloaded  as 
readily  from  this  class  of  car  as  from  a  flat  car.  In 
loading  up  flat  cars,  the  rails  can  be  piled  up  as  high 
as  desired  and  the  car  loaded  to  its  capacity,  which  is 
hardly  possible,  or  at  least  not  a  safe  practice,  when 
the  loading  is  done  by  hand.  In  loading  or  unload- 
ing a  car  an  average  of  a  rail  per  minute  can  be 
maintained,  and  if  flat  cars  are  being  unloaded  the 
machine  can  be  moved  forward  by  the  men  and  placed 
on  the  car  just  emptied ;  if  gondola  cars  are  used,  the 
one  loaded  or  unloaded  must  be  switched  out  and  re- 
placed by  another. 


For  Light  Creeping  Tendency.    Two  Per  Rail 


C)ii?E:cr-K)N 


OF  (:ni:t:pri 


Medium  Creeping  Tendency.    Four  Per  Rail. 


[)iiREc:"i()i«i 


OF  (3hi:e:f'ii4(5 


UUUUUUUUUT¥II 

Heavy  Creeping  Tendency.     Six  Per  Rail. 

nnnnnnnnnn.nnnn[i.n^fin 


SINGLE  Track -Creeping  Both  DirecTions.  Six  Per  Rail. 
Fig.  1.     Proper  Location   for   Anti-Creepers 


11 


12 


THE  TRACIOIAN'S  HELPER 


Short  rails  for  curves.  The  usual  practice  when 
an  order  is  given  by  a  railroad  company  to  furnish  a 
certain  tonnage  of  rail  is  to  specify  the  length  of  rails 
desired,  30  ft.  or  33  ft.  as  the  case  may  be,  and  to 
accept  up  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  tonnage  in  short  rails, 
down  to  25  ft.  lengths,  diminishing  by  one  foot  succes- 
sively.    Some  of  these  short  rails  are  used  on  the  in- 


Fig.  2.     American    Rail    Loader 


side  rail  of  curves  in  order  to  keep  the  joints  broken 
with  the  other  rails  on  the  outside  line.  What  extra 
ones  are  not  required  for  this  work  should  be  kept  to- 
gether and  used  up  on  straight  track,  breaking  joints 
to  the  best  advantage. 

When  laid  in  a  sag.  When  a  piece  of  track  is  laid 
in  a  sag  which  it  is  intended  soon  to  raise  to  grade, 
the  rails  should  be  laid  with  open  joints  and  the 


CONSTRUCTION  13 

splices  loosely  bolted,  otherwise,  when  brought  to 
grade  the  joints  will  become  too  tight,  since  a  sagging 
track  is  longer  than  one  which  is  laid  accurately  to 
grade. 

Change  of  line  toward  center  of  curve.  In  cases 
where  the  general  change  of  line  is  made  by  moving  a 
curved  track  inward  several  feet,  dig  out  the  material 
which  is  used  for  filling  between  the  ties  for  the  full 
distance  covered  by  the  change  in  line,  so  that  the 
ties  will  not  crowd  against  each  other  or  injure  the 
surface  by  rising  up.  Before  commencing  to  line, 
cut  the  track  loose  at  the  middle  of  the  curve  by  re- 
moving the  joint  fastenings  at  one  joint  on  each  line 
of  rails  as  nearly  opposite  as  can  be  selected,  and 
loosen  the  spikes  from  at  least  one  line  of  rails  between 
the  joints  thus  cut  in  order  to  permit  the  two  broken 
pieces  of  track  to  move  independently  of  each  other. 
Start  lining  gangs  at  one  or  both  ends  of  the  curve 
and  work  towards  the  middle,  moving  the  track 
towards  the  new  line  12  to  20  inches,  or  as  far  as  it 
can  be  pulled  conveniently  with  one  lining,  without 
kinking  the  rails  or  splices.  Continue  thus  until  the 
opening  in  the  middle  of  the  curve  is  reached.  Then 
go  back  and  commence  again  as  near  the  end  of  the 
curve  as  may  be  necessary,  and  work  towards  the 
middle  as  before.  Repeat  this  process  until  the  inside 
rail  of  the  track  has  been  moved  beyond  the  cen- 
ter stakes  for  the  new  line,  bringing  in  both  ends  of 
the  curve  alike.  Then,  while  part  of  the  men  are 
spacing  and  squaring  the  ties,  throwing  in  surfacing 
material,  etc.,  go  over  the  ground  with  a  small  gang 
and  line  the  track  to  the  center  stakes.  Do  not  cut 
the  rails  to  fill  up/ the  opening  at  the  middle  of  the 
curve  until  all  the  lining  of  the  track  is  finished; 
otherwise  the  rails  may  not  fit  after  all  the  lining  is 
completed.  Lining  from  the  ends  of  the  curve  to- 
ward the  middle  always  forces  the  track   to   move 


14  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

> 

forward  toward  the  opening-  when  throwing  track  in- 
ward. By  moving  the  track  a  little  past  the  center 
stakes  with  the  first  lining,  if  the  curve  is  being  moved 
in,  and  then  throwing  it  outward  to  its  place  when 
finishing  the  work,  buckling  or  jamming  joints  to- 
gether is  prevented  and  the  track  is  made  less  diffi- 
cult to  handle.  The  latter  operation  stretches  the 
track,  and  opens  up  joints  that  might  otherwise  have 
proved  too  tight  for  conveniently  maintaining  a  good 
line  in  the  future.  If  the  section  of  track  to  be 
thrown  is  long,  and  particularly  if  of  heavy  construc- 
tion, it  may  be  necessary  to  cut  the  track  at  more  than 
one  place. 

When  the  change  of  line  is  so  great  that  the  new 
line  is  some  distance  clear  of  the  old  track,  it  is  some- 
times a  better  policy  to  lay  a  new  section  of  track 
throughout  than  to  try  to  move  the  old  piece  of 
track  to  place  with  lining  bars. 

Making  connections.  When  laying  rails  on  either 
main  or  side  tracks  never  make  a  connection  with  a 
piece  of  rail  shorter  than  ten  feet.  When  you  see 
that  only  three  or  four  feet  of  rail  are  necessary  to 
connect  the  ends  of  a  piece  of  track,  add  the  three  or 
four  feet  to  the  length  of  the  rail  immediately  adjoin- 
ing the  space,  cut  two  pieces  of  rail  half  the  length  of 
the  total  number  of  feet,  and  put  these  into  the  track 
to  make  connections.  A  piece  of  rail  less  than  ten 
feet  in  length  is  of  greatest  value  to  the  railroad  com- 
pany when  returned  to  the  rolling  mill.  Except  in 
cases  where  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  use  short 
pieces  of  rail,  as  at  the  ends  of  frogs  in  round  house 
tracks,  they  should  be  avoided.  Modern  round  house 
design  nowadays  generally  requires  the  elimination 
of  frogs  between  the  turntable  and  house.  A  track 
foreman  can  generally  avoid  making  a  short  con- 
nection, especially  when  laying  old  rails,  by  cutting 
lengths  of  rail  from  26  ft.  to  33  ft.  which  are  battered 


CONSTRUCTION  15 

on  the  ends  but  otherwise  in  good  condition.  When 
rails  of  different  length  are  at  hand  a  great  deal  can 
be  accomplished  by  doing  a  little  figuring  to  make 
such  a  combination  of  length  of  rails  that  an  opening 
can  be  closed  without  cutting  at  all. 

Lining  new  track.  When  a  new  road  is  first  laid 
out  the  engineers  set  stakes  where  the  center  of  the 
track  should  be.  These  are  generally  100  feet  apart, 
and  a  tack  is  driven  in  the  top  of  each  stake  to  show 
the  correct  center  of  the  track.  The  man  whose 
business  it  is  to  line  the  rails  behind  the  tracklayers 
always  carries  with  him  a  small  light  wooden  gage  on 
which  the  center  is  marked.  The  manner  of  lining 
new  track  is  as  follows:  The  trackliner  places  his 
gage  on  top  of  the  rails  across  the  track  over  one  of 
the  center  stakes.  His  men  then  lift  the  track  to 
one  side  until  the  center  mark  on  the  gage  is  directly 
over  the  tack  in  the  top  of  the  center  stake  between 
the  rails.  This  part  of  the  track  is  then  allowed  to 
remain  in  that  position  and  should  not  be  moved 
again.  After  the  trackliner  has  put  the  rails  in  posi- 
tion at  two  or  three  center  stakes,  he  proceeds  with 
his  men  to  put  the  rails  between  these  points  in  a  true 
line  with  them,  which  completes  the  work.  Any  care- 
lessness on  the  part  of  the  trackliner  in  the  matter  of 
putting  the  rails  in  their  proper  place  at  the  center 
stakes  is  apt  to  cause  trouble  when  the  track  has  been 
surfaced,  as  it  is  often  difficult  for  the  trackman  in 
charge  of  a  section  to  get  a  perfect  line  on  his  track 
at  places  Avhere  the  first  trackliner  left  swings  in  it, 
because  often  many  of  the  center  stakes  are  lost  or 
moved  out  of  position  during  the  work  of  tracklaying. 

The  steel  car  should  be  light,  strong  and  compact, 
and  made  of  the  best  material,  so  that  it  can  carry  a 
heavy  load  and  at  the  same  time  be  easily  handled  by 
the  crew  working  it.  The  wheels'  tread  should  be  at 
least  eight  inches  wide,  so  that  the  car  can  pass  over 


16  THE  TBACKMAN'S  HELPER 

loose  and  unevenly  gaged  track  without  leaving  the 
rails.  A  car  load  of  rails  off  the  track  may  cause  con- 
siderable delay. 

The  gage  used  to  hold  the  rails  in  place  ahead  of 
the  steel  car  should  be  made  of  one  solid  piece  of  iron 
with  a  flange  to  come  down  on  both  sides  of  the  ball 
of  each  rail.  This  kind  of  gage  serves  the  double 
purpose  of  gaging  the  track  and  of  holding  the  loose 
rails  in  place  until  the  car  has  passed  over  them. 

AVhen  spiking  new  track  the  foreman  should  see 
that  the  gage  is  not  placed  too  far  away  from  the 
joint  when  the  spikes  are  being  driven;  otherwise,  if 
the  loose  end  of  the  rail  is  bowed  in  or  out,  the  gage 
will  be  wrong. 

Forwarding  material.  In  constructing  a  new  line 
the  material  used  must  necessarily  be  hauled  out  to 
the  point  of  construction.  The  center  of  activities  is 
at  the  end  of  the  completed  track,  hence  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  only  what  is  required  to  keep 
the  work  in  progress  continuously  be  forwarded.  To 
avoid  accumulation  and  all  interference,  this  distribu- 
tion should  be  in  charge  of  a  competent  man  who  will 
keep  in  close  touch  with  the  general  foreman  and  find 
out  just  what  is  desired  from  day  to  day  and  have  it 
loaded  up  at  the  material  yard,  which  is  the  center  of 
distribution;  or,  if  the  material  be  on  cars,  shall 
see  that  the  proper  cars  go  forward  switched  out  in 
the  proper  order.  If  the  track  laying  gang  is  con- 
tinuously using  the  stub  end  of  the  track  as  fast  as 
it  is  laid  during  the  day  for  the  operation  of  the 
steel  car,  and  it  is  not  convenient  to  distribute  ties 
ahead  by  means  of  teams  without  interfering  with 
the  work  of  tracklaying,  it  may  be  necessary  to  have 
the  distribution  of  ties  made  at  night. 

Ballast  gang.  This  should  follow  up  the  track- 
layers as  closely  as  can  be  arranged  so  that  there  will 
be  no  interference  with  the  distribution  of  material 


CONSTRUCTION  17 

either  for  the  track  layers  or  with  the  unloading  of 
ballast.  A  gang  of  forty  men  should  keep  this  work 
advancing  properly  and  be  able  to  furnish  the  help 
required  to  distribute  the  ballast  if  furnished  in  self- 
clearing  cars.  The  composition  of  this  gang  will  be 
approximately  the  same  as  the  one  referred  to  in  detail 
in  Chapter  VII  on  ''Ballasting." 
Force  required  for  track  laying. 

1  Foreman     

2  Assistant    Foremen 

2  to    4  Tie  Spacers — Space  ties  ahead  of  new  rails 

2  Tie  Gagers — Mark  location  of  rails  on  ties  before 
rails  are  laid  and  assist  tie  spacers  in  locating 
joints,   ties,   etc.  ' 

1  Gageman — Handles   gage   for    spiking   track   to   gage 

ahead  of  steel  car    • 

4  Spikers  (head) — Spike  every  third  or  fourth  tie 
ahead  of  steel   car    

2  Tie  Nippers   ( head )  — Hold  up  ties  for  head  spikers .  . 
8  to  12  Tongmen — Unload  rails  from  steel  car  and  place  in 

position    for    spikers    

1  Shimman — Carries  box  of  assorted  shims  and  places 

proper    shim    for    expansion    

8  Bolters — Apply   joint   fastenings    

8  to  16  Spikers     (back) — Spike    every    tie    not    finished    by 

head   spikers    

4  to    8  Tie  Nippers — Hold  up  ties  for  back  spikers   

6  Material  and  Toolmen — Distribute  joint  fastenings, 
spikes  and  bolts,  and  look  after  tools   

2  Water  Carriers — ^Supply  force  with  drinking  water .  . 


51  to  69  Men  in  entire  gang. 

Note: — ^Above  does  not  include  force  required  for  distribu- 
tion of  ties. 

A  machine  for  handling  rail  and  track  material. 

The  Brown  Rail  Loader  is  mounted  on  a  covered  34-ft. 
flat  car  of  60,000  lbs.  capacity.  It  consists  of  a  22-ft. 
demountable  boom  attached  to  a  low  mast  and  guyed 
to  an  ad.i'ustable  ''A"  frame  on  each  end  of  the  car. 
The  hoisting  cables  run  along  the  booms,  through 
the  masts,  around  drums,  and  are  then  attached  to 


18  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

the  rods  of  the  pistons  in  the  compressed  air  hoisting 
cylinders.  These  cylinders  are  placed  longitudinally 
on  the  floor  of  the  car  and  each  is  equipped  with  a 
three-way  valve  lever  or  chain  control  enabling  the 
operator  to  occupy  any  position  in  the  car  while  rais- 
ing or  lowering  loads.  In  order  to  draw  air  for  the 
device  from  the  ''Train  Line"  without  cutting  out 
any  of  the  cars  in  the  train,  two  compressed  air  reser- 
voirs are  provided  under  the  car  and  connected  with 
each  cylinder.  The  housing  between  the  boom  masts 
has  sufficient  door  and  window  openings  and  is 
made  long  enough  to  accommodate  the  booms  so  that 
when  not  in  use  they  can  be  placed  in  the  car  and 
locked. 

The  loader  is  built  in  two  types:  (A)  2,200  lbs. 
capacity  with  a  compound  lift  of  12  ft.  (B)  2,200 
lbs.  capacity  with  a  compound  lift  of  24  ft.  and  4,500 
lbs.  capacity  with  a  straight  lift  of  12  ft.  The  change 
from  2,200  lbs.  to  4,500  lbs.  in  type  B  is  made  by  re- 
leasing the  cables  from  the  drums,  a  clamp  of  simple 
construction  being  the  only  attachment  required. 

Some  of  the  advantages  claimed  for  this  machine  by 
the  manufacturers  are:  (1)  The  material  is  handled 
without  being  damaged.  (2)  Danger  of  personal  in- 
juries is  greatly  reduced.  (3)  A  much  smaller  force 
of  men  is  required  for  the  work.  (4)  A  considerable 
saving  in  time  required  to  handle  a  given  amount  of 
material,  which  is  of  special  importance  in  handling 
material  on  main  tracks,  and  (5)  A  great  saving  in 
cost  of  doing  the  work. 

In  loading  or  unloading  rail  by  hand  a  force  of 
about  40  men  with  foreman  and  sub-foreman  is  re- 
quired. The  wages  of  such  a  gang  will  amount  to  ap- 
proximately $85  per  day  of  10  hours.  If  the  work  is 
done  with  a  Brown  Rail  Loader  and  is  carried  on  at 
the  same  time  on  the  two  cars  coupled  to  it,  the 
makers  claim  that  the  force  required  will  consist  of 


CONSTRUCTION  19 

two  men  on  each  car  for  swinging  the  rails  into  place 
and  straight  with  the  car  and  for  loosening  or  attach- 
ing the  cable  clamps  to  the  rails,  two  men  on  the 
ground  opposite  each  car  for  attaching  the  cable 
clamps  to  the  rails  and  swinging  the  rails- parallel  to 
the  car,  or  for  swinging  the  rails  parallel  to  the  track, 
properly  spacing  them  and  loosening  clamps  if  rail  is 
being  unloaded.  An  operator  to  manipulate  the  ma- 
chine and  a  foreman  complete  the  force,  which  will 
cost  about  $22  per  day  of  10  hours.  These  figures 
show  a  saving  of  about  $63  a  day  for  labor  resulting 
from  the  use  of  the  machine.  The  amount  actually 
saved  will,  of  course,  be  less  than  indicated,  as  in- 
terest on  the  cost  of  the  machine,  maintenance,  de- 
preciation, taxes,  cost  of  oil,  grease  and  waste,  cost  of 
compressing  air,  depreciation  and  maintenance  of  all 
compressed  air  equipment  involved,  oil,  grease  and 
waste  for  such  equipment,  and  cost  of  handling  the 
machine  in  the  work  train,  and  from  one  piece  of  work 
to  another  must  be  deducted  from  the  $63  saved 
through  reduced  labor  cost. 

The  rate  of  speed  at  which  the  machine  may  be 
operated  is  claimed  to  be  four  to  five  rails  per  minute 
with  the  train  moving  at  the  rate  of  two  miles  per 
hour.  On  the  Boston  &  Maine  R.  R.  five  high  side 
cars  containing  160  tons  of  rail  were  unloaded  and 
set  up  for  laying  in  3  hrs.  and  15  min.,  which  includes 
time  taken  to  clear  the  main  track  for  three  trains. 
The  Boston  &  Albany  R.  R.  accomplished  on  June  6, 
1912,  99  95-lb.  rails  handled  in  50  min.  using  only 
one  end  of  loader.  Illustrations  of  work  performed 
with  Brown  Rail  Loaders  on  the  New  York,  New 
Haven  &  Hartford  R.  R.,  are : 

July,   1913,  625  100-lb.  rails  handled  in  4  hrs.  and  30  mins., 

using  only  one  end  of  loader. 
July,  1913,  53  100-lb.  rails  handled  in  17  mins.,  using  one  end 

only. 


20  THE  TRACKIMAN'S  HELPER 

The  amounts  of  time  stated  in  these  records  include 
the  time  necessary  to  clear  the  track  for  other  trains. 

Tracklaying  by  machine  with  treated  ties.  It  is 
difficult  to  lay  track  with  a  track  laying  machine 
when  treated  ties  are  used.  A  report  on  this  work  by 
E.  E.  Roos,  Superintendent  of  Track  on  the  Pecos  & 
Northern  Texas  Ry.,  states  that  in  using  ties  right 
from  the  treating  plant,  the  dripping  oil  made  them 


Fig.  3.     View  of  l>rown  Kail  Loader  Ready  for  Operation 

slip  badly  when  carried  forward  on  the  rails.  As  the 
carrier  for  the  ties  is  above  the  carrier  for  the  rails 
the  oil  dripping  on  the  rails  gets  them  in  a  greasy  con- 
dition, making  it  hard  for  the  machine  to  grip  the 
rails  and  frequently  breaking  the  driving  chain. 

Cost  of  track  laying  with  a  track  machine. 
A  large  job  of  track  laying  is  described  in  the  April 
1,  1914,  issue  of  Engineering  and  Contracting,  as  fol- 
lows: Every  device  or  appliance  which  would  help 
along  the  work  was  furnished.  Tools  and  machinery 
were  maintained  at  top  efficiency  through  frequent  ex- 
pert attention.  Years  of  experience  have  developed  a 
construction  organization  of  enviable  efficiency.  It  is 
not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  costs  appear  ex- 
ceedingly low,  as  compared  with  track  laying  by  rail- 
way company  forces.     The  costs  given  do  not  include 


CONSTRUCTION  21 

unloading  the  material  in  the  material  yard,  loading 
it  into  the  distributing  train,  nor  transporting  it  to 
the  ''front." 

One  of  the  most  vital  reasons  why  contractors  turn 
out  cheaper  work  than  railway  companies  is  the  fact 
that  they  offer  better  wages  and  thereby  get  better 
laborers  in  the  end,  as  the  weeding  out  process  is 
available  when  good  wages  are  paid.  Also,  stipula- 
tions are  usually  introduced  into  contracts  which 
make  the  owner  liable  for  extras  in  case  the  contract- 
or's work  is  held  up  or  interfered  with.  Conse- 
quently, great  efforts  are  made  to  keep  the  contractors ' 
force  fully  supplied  with  material  and  room  to  work  in. 

Make-up  of  track  laying  machine  train.  When 
laying  track,  the  train  carrying  the  machine  is  made 
up  as  follows,  beginning  with  the  ''pioneer  car," 
which  always  remains  at  the  "front,"  and  is  not 
changed  out  as  are  the  other  cars  in  the  train.  Imme- 
diately behind  the  "pioneer"  are  four  cars  of  rails, 
then  the  locomotive,  and  behind  that  eight  cars  of 
ties ;  next  comes  a  car  of  tie  plates,  when  they  are 
used,  the  "trailer,"  which  is  a  car  carrying  spikes, 
bolts  and  base  plates,  a  car  of  plank  for  crossings,  a 
car  of  cattle  guards,  a  tool  car  and  the  way  car.  This 
makes  twenty  cars,  and  all  are  flats  except  the  two 
last  mentioned. 

The  first  car  of  rail  behind  the  pioneer  is 
"trimmed";  that  is,  on  it  are  loaded  angle  bars 
enough  to  lay  the  amount  of  steel  carried  on  the  train. 
The  angle  bars  are  carried  forward  over  the  pioneer 
car  and  delivered  as  needed  to  the  ' '  strap  hangers ' '  in 
front.  The  rails  underneath  the  angle  bars  are  the 
last  ones  laid  from  the  train,  in  order  that  the  angle 
bars  may  be  cleared  off  by  the  time  rails  are  needed. 

A  system  of  trams  is  used  to  carry  the  ties  and  rails 
to  the  front.  The  trams  are  made  in  sections,  each  33 
ft.  long,  the  sides  consisting  of  2%  by  10  in.  planks. 


22  THE  TRACKMA:N'S  HELPER 

Tie  trams  are  14  in.  wide,  and  rail  trams  are  12  in. 
wide.  The  trams  are  held  together  by  bolts  on  which 
are  pipe  separators  to  hold  the  sides  the  proper  dis- 
tance apart.  Near  the  bottom  of  the  trams  are  live 
rollers,  which  complete  a  trough-shaped  way  for  ties 
or  rails. 

On  the  pioneer  car  is  installed  a  20-h.p.  upright 
engine  for  driving  the  live  rollers  in  the  trams;  this 
is  done  by  means  of  a  tumbler  shaft  and  gear  or  cog 
wheels.  Steam  for  the  stationary  engine  is  piped 
from  the  locomotive.  The  shaft  is  fitted  with  patent 
couplings,  consisting,  on  one  end  of  each  section,  of 
a  casting  containing  a  square  socket  into  which  the 
end  of  the  next  rod  fits.  Each  length  of  tram  has  a 
section  of  the  shaft  bolted  to  it  and  as  the  trams  are 
hung  the  rods  are  fitted  together,  thus  forming  a 
continuous  shaft.  The  trams  are  "  hung  "  on  iron 
brackets  or  trusses  which  hook  into  the  stake  pockets 
on  the  cars.  The  trusses  are  made  with  flange  rollers 
on  which  the  trams  are  placed,  thus  taking  care  of  the 
slack  of  the  train  in  starting  and  stopping.  The 
trams  have  a  coupling  device  which  holds  them  to- 
gether, the  ones  on  the  pioneer  being  permanently 
fastened  to  the  car. 

The  tie  trams,  660  ft.  long,  are  operated  on  the 
right  hand  side  of  the  train.  Those  for  the  rail,  240 
ft.  long,  are  on  the  left.  The  movement  of  ties  and 
rail  is  controlled  bv  the  ''dinkev  skinner,"  i.e.,  the 
stationary  engineer,  so  as  to  deliver  them  in  front  of 
the  train  as  needed.  A  tie  chute,  53  ft.  long,  provided 
with  dead  rollers,  is  attached  at  the  front  end  of  the 
tie  tram  on  the  pioneer,  and  through  this  chute  the 
ties  are  pushed  by  the  ones  coming  forward  over  the 
live  rollers.  As  fast  as  thev  are  delivered  at  the  end 
of  the  chute  they  are  taken  by  the  "tie  buckers"  (la- 
borers) and  are  placed  across  the  grade  ready  for  the 
rails. 


CONSTRUCTION  23 

A  similar  chute  attached  to  the  rail  tram  provides  a 
way  for  delivering  the  rail  in  front  of  the  pioneer. 
These  chutes  are  supported  at  the  outer  end  by  cables 
attached  to  the  rear  end  of  the  pioneer  car  and  car- 
ried up  over  a  high  frame  work  or  ''gallows"  on  the 
front  end.  A  boom,  also  attached  to  the  front  end  of 
the  pioneer  car,  extends  far  enough  ahead  to  have  the 
cable  attached  to  it  reach  the  middle  of  the  rail  when 
placing  it  in  position  in  track.  This  cable  is  oper- 
ated by  hand  with  an  ordinary  crab.  Instead  of 
cranks,  a  light  buggy  wheel  is  used  by  the  operator 
to  wind  up  the  cable,  which  lifts  the  rail  and  holds  it 
while  the  "heeler"  and  his  assistants  place  it  in  posi- 
tion on  the  tracks.  (A  newer  device  handles  the  cable 
with  compressed  air.)  The  rails  are  placed  in  the 
trams  by  three  men  and  are  handled  in  front  by  six 
more.  One  man  on  each  car  places  the  ties  in  the 
trams.  The  spikes,  bolts  and  base  plates  are  peddled 
from  the  trailer  as  the  train  proceeds. 

The  rails  are  held  to  gage  by  bridle  rods  until  the 
train  passes  over,  all  spiking  being  done  in  the  rear. 
The  train  moves  ahead  one  rail  length  at  a  time  when 
laying  square  joints,  and  half  a  rail  length  when  lay- 
ing broken  joints.  The  trams  are  taken  down  when 
cars  are  empty  and  replaced  on  the  loaded  cars  when 
a  new  train  arrives.  From  100  to  125  men  are  re- 
quired for  a  full  crew. 

Material  for  the  track  machine  is  loaded  by  railway 
company  forces,  and  great  care  is  taken  to  have 
the  material  loaded,  not  only  in  correct  proportion, 
but  in  correct  order  and  position  on  cars.  A  train 
called  the  ' '  swing  train ' '  is  then  made  up  of  sufficient 
material  for  a  half  day's  work,  and  is  transported  to 
the  front,  or  rather  to  the  camp  of  the  contractor, 
where  it  is  placed  in  the  most  convenient  place  avail- 
able for  the  track  machine  crew  to  pick  up.  The 
swing  train  crew  then  takes  a  train  of  empties  and  re- 


24  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

turns  to  the  material  yard.  The  track  machine  is 
served  regularly  by  the  same  locomotive  and  train 
crew.  As  the  track  machine  does  not  move  ahead  by 
its  own  power  a  locomotive  and  train  crew  are  re- 
quired to  remain  with  the  machine  constantly. 

Briefly,  the  movement  of  the  machine  is  as  follows, 
in  laying  square  jointed  track:  ties  are  trimmed  and 
carried  ahead  constantly  and  laid  on  the  grade;  the 
machine  moves  ahead,  and  a  rail  is  chuted  out  and 
heeled  in  by  the  rail  gang,  and  the  angle  bars  bolted 
on  loosely  with  two  bolts  only;  a  second  rail  is  placed 
and  held  to  gage  by  bridle  rods;  the  machine  is  then 
moved  ahead  a  rail  length  by  the  locomotive,  and  the 
operation  repeated. 

Back  of  the  machine  the  bridle  rods  are  removed, 
and  enough  ties  are  spiked  to  hold  the  rails  from 
spreading.  Spacing  ties,  bolt  tightening  and  full 
bolting  are  all  done  behind  the  machine  and  cause  it 
no  delay. 

Organization  of  gang.  A  gang  of  127  men  will 
easily  lay  two  miles  of  track  per  day,  provided  no  un- 
usual difficulties,  such  as  soft  grade,  etc.,  are  en- 
countered. A  gang  of  this  size  would  be  placed  about 
as  follows : 

1  general   foreman,   per    day    $  5.00 

1  ass't  foreman,  with  rail  gang,  per  day   . 3.50 

1  ass't  foreman,  watching  trams,  per  day   3.50 

1  ass't  foreman,  with   spikers,   per  day    3.50 

1  ass't  foreman,  lining  track,  per  day 3.50 

1  stationary  engineer,  per  month    75.00 

1  pole  man,  per  month    75.00 

1  oiler,    per   day    2.50 

1  line    man,    per    day    2.25 

16  "tie  buckers,"   per   day    $2.25  and     2.50 

2  tie  spacers,  ahead  of  machine,  per  day    2.25 

1  man  fiddling  ties,  per  day   2.25 

6  "rust  eaters,"  handling  rail,  per  day    2.50 

1  bridle  man,   per   day    2.25 

1  heel  nipper,  per   day    2.25 


CONSTRUCTION  25 

2  strap  hangers,  per  day    $  2.25 

1  man,    carrying   angle   bars   from   "trimmed"   car   to 

pioneer  car,   per  day    2.25 

3  steel  rollers,  rolling  rails  into  trams,  per  day....  2.50 
8  tie  trammers,  rolling  ties  into  trams,  per  day 2.25 

2  spike  peddlers,  distributing  spikes,  per  day 2.25 

2  bolt  and  joint  plate  peddlers,  per  day 2.25 

2  ''bridle  men,"   carrying  bridle  rods  from   rear,   per 

day 2.25 

4  rear  bolters,  per  day    2.25 

2  water  boys,  per  day   2.25 

8  men  spacing  ties,  per  day   2.25 

1  gage  man,  per  day   2.25 

32  spikers,   per   day    2.50 

16  nippers,   per   day    $2.25  and  2.50 

8  liners,   per   day    2.25 

127 

When  the  gang  is  smaller,  the  force  behind  the 
machine  is  cut  down,  and  74  men  would  be  organized 
about  as  follows : 

1  general   foreman,    per    day    $  5.00 

1  ass't  foreman,  with  rail  gang,  per  day    3.50 

1  ass't   foreman,   watching  trams,   per   day    3.50 

1  ass't  foreman,  with  rail  gang,  per  day    3.50 

1  ass't  foreman  on  general  work,   per  day    3.50 

1   stationary    engineer,    per    month     75.00 

1  pole  man,  per  month    75.00 

1  oiler,   per   day    2.50 

1  line  man,  per  day 2.25 

10  "tie  buckers,"  per  day   $2,25  and  2.50 

2  tie  spacers,  per  day    2.25 

6  rail  handlers,  per  day    2.50 

1  bridle  man,   per   day    2.25 

1  heel  nipper,  per  day   2.25 

2  strap   hangers,    per   day    2.25 

1  man  carrying  angle  bars,  per  day   2.25 

3  steel  rollers,  per  day   2.50 

8  tie   trammers,   per   day    2.25 

2  spike  peddlers,  per  day   2.25 

2  bolt  and  point  plate  peddlers,  per  day 2.25 

1  bridle  rod  man,  per  day   2.25 

2  rear  bolters,  per  day   2.25 

1  water  boy,  per  day    2.25 


26  THE  TRACKMAl^'S  HELPER 

1  gage  man,  per  day    $  2.25 

4  men  spacing  ties,  per  day    2.25 

12  spikers,    per    day    2.50 

6  nippers,    per    day    2.50 

74 


During  the  work  from  which  the  cost  data  were  ob- 
tained, the  gang  varied  from  about  50  to  100  men. 
The  $2.50  laborers  (spikers,  nippers,  and  tie  buckers) 
averaged  about  40  per  cent  of  the  entire  gang  for 
the  65  days  worked.  The  following  expenses  were 
chargeable  against  track  laying: 

Overhead  charge  on  machine   (interest  at  6  per  cent, 

depreciation  at  10  per  cent)    $      100.00 

Dinkey  skinner  at  $100  per  mo 210.00 

Timekeeper  at  $85   per   mo 177.00 

Locomotive  and  crew,  65  days,  at  $40 2,600.00 

Supervision    and    labor     8,710.00 

$11,797.00 
Force  account,  or  extras  allowed   578.00 

$11,219.00 
Average  cost  per  mile $280.50 

This  cost  represents  the  cost  to  the  contractor,  plus 
the  cost  of  the  locomotive  and  crew  at  $40  per  day. 
The  latter  charge  should  be  added,  however,  as  it  rep- 
resents a  real  part  of  the  operation  expense  of  the 
track  machine. 

The  general  track  conditions.  The  organization  of 
a  force  working  on  a  track  laying  machine  is  easily 
adjustable  to  the  amount  of  laborers  at  hand,  within 
certain  limits,  by  a  foreman  who  is  competent.  When 
a  full  crew  is  not  available,  the  man  in  charge  will  cut 
out  certain  parts  of  the  work,  such  as  full  spiking  and 
bolting  behind  the  machine,  reduce  the  number  of  the 
''tie  buckers,"  viz.,  men  carrying  ties,  to  the  mini- 
mum, take  off  the  lining  gang  from  behind,  and  so 
on  all  through  the  entire  crew  wherever  a  man  can 


■^o-" 


CONSTRUCTION  27 

possibly  be  spared,  leaving  only  those  laborers  whose 
work  is  absolutely  necessary  to  be  done  while  the  rail 
is  being  laid.  The  rest  is  left  to  be  done  on  the 
''back  work,"  The  two  methods  given  above  illus- 
trate this.  Occasionally  a  crew  becomes  so  small  when 
men  are  scarce,  that  only  half  of  a  train  will  be  laid 
in  a  half  day.  This  is  expensive  for  the  contractor  as 
it  generally  necessitates  "taking  down"  and  "hang- 
ing ' '  the  trams  an  extra  time  for  a  mile  of  track. 

When  a  full  crew  is  on  the  work  a  mile  of  track  can 
be  easily  laid  in  from  three  to  four  hours,  including 
hanging  and  taking  down  the  trams. 

The  track,  from  which  the  cost  of  track  laying  above 
was  computed,  was  laid  during  the  winter  months, 
and  some  bad  weather  was  encountered,  but  the  work 
probably  progressed  as  fast  as  it  would  in  the  summer 
months,  when  extremely  hot  weather  is  likely  to  slow 
up  the  men. 

The  rail  used  was  the  standard  length  33  ft.,  laid 
square  joints  on  tangents  and  broken  joints  on  curves. 
When  a  curve  was  reached  a  rail  was  cut  to  break  the 
joints,  the  cut  being  figured  so  that  the  short  part 
was  used  on  the  inside  of  the  curve  at  the  start,  and 
then  the  long  part  was  used  at  the  end  on  the  outside 
of  the  rail  of  curve  to  square  the  joints  for  the 
tangent.  The  specifications  stipulated  that  joints  must 
not  be  laid  within  four  feet  of  the  ends  of  bridges  and 
culverts.  To  avoid  cutting  rails  to  meet  this  condi- 
tion, fractional  steel  (short  rails)  was  loaded  on  the 
"trimmed"  car,  and  when  approaching  a  bridge  the 
distance  was  measured,  and  if  found  necessary 
a  panel  or  more  of  these  short  length  rails  would  be 
used  to  bring  the  joints  the  desired  distance  from  the 
end  of  the  bridge.  In  laying  through  yards  where 
sidings  were  located,  the  main  line  was  laid  through 
regardless  of  the  switches,  and  when  switches  were 
put  in  they  were  laid  as  near  to  the  engineer's  loca- 


28  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

tion  as  they  could  be  put  without  cutting  a  main  line 
rail.  The  fractional  steel,  a  certain  amount  of  which 
all  companies  agree  to  take  with  every  large  order  for 
rail,  was  laid  between  the  switches  on  the  main  lines 
through  station  grounds.  As  a  rule  the  sidings  were 
all  laid  with  released  rail,  the  work  being  done  by 
hand. 

The  rail  was  of  90-lb.  section  laid  on  white  oak  ties, 
spaced  18  to  21  under  a  33  ft.  rail  on  tangent,  and  19 
to  22  on  curves.  The  joints  were  made  with  ordinary 
angle  bars  with  four  bolts,  and  spring  nut  locks.  The 
heads  of  the  bolts  were  staggered,  that  is,  alternate 
bolt  heads  were  respectively  on  the  inside  and  outside 
of  rail.  The  number  of  ties  per  rail  length  was 
varied  to  suit  their  sizes,  i.  e.,  18  broad  faced  ties  be- 
ing used,  or  21  narrow  faced  ties,  on  tangents. 

The  cost  of  transporting  the  machine  and  the  men 
to  the  work  is  not  included  herein,  the  data  given  rep- 
resenting the  costs  after  the  machinery  and  the 
laborers  were  on  the  work. 

An  inspector  was  employed  by  the  company,  but  al- 
though his  expenses  represent  a  charge  against  the 
track  by  the  railwa}^,  it  is  not  chargeable  against  the 
contractor's  expenses. 

A  labor  saver  for  unloading  rails  from  end  door 
box,  stock  or  coal  cars.  The  following  notes  are  by 
Mr.  F.  L.  Guy. 

Frequently  steel  rails  are  shipped  from  the  mills  in 
end  door  box,  stock  or  coal  cars,  and  for  railroads  in 
the  West  this  is  very  often  the  case.  This  is  caused 
by  the  scarcity  of  flat  cars,  or  to  save  back  haul  on 
empty  cars.  Thousands  of  stock  cars  are  shipped 
into  Chicago  from  the  West  every  month,  and  there 
are  not  many  articles  that  can  be  loaded  in  these  cars 
for  the  West.  A  large  number  of  railroads  in  the 
West  utilize  these  stock  cars  for  rail. 

To  unload  rails   for  relaying  from  flat  cars  is  a 


CONSTRUCTION  29 

simple  proposition.  The  ear  stakes  are  taken  out  and 
the  rails  are  pinched  off  the  sides  of  the  cars  with 
pinch  or  lining  bars.  When  the  rails  are  pinched 
oft'  they  fall  on  the  shoulder  of  the  roadbed  and  no 
further  handling-  is  necessary  except  to  butt  them 
against  the  rail  that  has  been  thrown  off  before. 
There  are  necessary  for  this  work  about  eight  men  on 
each  side  of  the  flat  car  and  about  as  many  men  on 
the  ground. 

To  unload  rails  from  box,  stock  or  coal  cars  is  a 
very  different  proposition.  It  is  necessary  to  have 
two  ropes  about  50  ft.  long.  On  one  end  of  each 
rope  a  ring  about  3  in.  in  diameter  is  fastened,  and 
on  the  other  end  is  a  hook  made  from  i^  ^^  %-^^- 
round  iron  with  a  square  turn.  This  hook  must  be 
small  enough  to  go  into  the  bolt  holes  of  the  rail  that 
is  being  unloaded. 

A  man  is  stationed  on  each  side  of  the  track  about 
50  ft.  from  the  end  of  the  car.  Each  man  has  a  lining 
bar,  and  they  jab  their  bars  down  between  the  ties 
and  then  drop  the  rings  on  the  ends  of  the  ropes  over 
the  tops  of  the  bars  and  let  the  rings  drop  to  the 
ground.  The  hooks  on  the  other  ends  of  the  ropes 
are  then  inserted  into  the  bolt  holes  of  two  rails,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  car.  The  car  is  then  moved  ahead, 
and  the  rails  into  which  the  hooks  are  fastened  slip 
out  of  the  car  and  fall  in  between  the  track  rails. 
Men  are  then  assembled  around  the  two  rails  which 
have  just  fallen,  and  throw  them  out  on  the  shoulder 
of  the  roadbed. 

The  device  which  is  shown  by  the  accompanying 
sketch  (Fig.  4)  is  to  throw  the  rails  out  on  the  shoul- 
der when  they  come  out  of  the  cars.  It  consists  of 
a  light  rail  say  48  or  52  lbs.  about  10  ft.  long,  and 
two  pieces  of  1  x  3-in.  by  4-ft.  strip  iron.  The  rail 
is  bent  into  an  A  shape  and  the  ends  are  turned  up  a 
little  to  check  the  fall  of  the  rail  that  is  being  un- 


30 


THE  TILlCKIklAN'S  HELPER 


loaded.  The  strips  of  iron  are  bolted  to  the  web  of 
the  rail  about  lV->  ft-  from  the  apex  to  balance  the  A- 
f rame  and  keep  it  away  from  the  end  of  the  car.  The 
strips  should  be  bent  upward  and  should  be  so  turned 
as  to  get  a  good  bearing  against  the  bottom  of  the 
floor  of  the  car.  The  ends  of  the  A-frame  should 
extend  about  3I/2  ft-  from  the  end  of  the  car.  This 
is  to  keep  the  rail  which  is  being  unloaded  from  jump- 
ing over  when  it  falls  out  of  the  car. 

The  men  with  the  bars  should  place  them  on  the 
outside  of  the  track  rails,  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
ends  of  the  ties,  and  when  the  car  is  moved  ahead  the 
ends  of  the  rails  in  which  the  hooks  are  fastened  will 


r 

JF  »o./^  '^ 

//                      \> 

1 

fn,C,^^ 

^     i 

r 

1 

I  SttOOl 


LU     LJ     L^ 


Fig.  4.     Device    Used    in    Unloading    Rails    From    End    Door 

Box,   Stock  or   Coal   Cars 

fall  to  the  ground  on  the  outside  of  the  track  rails. 
"When  the  other  ends  of  the  rails  slide  out  of  the 
car  thev  will  fall  on  the  A-frame  and  slide  down  and 
fall  outside  of  the  track  rails  on  to  the  shoulder,  where 
they  will  be  out  of  the  waj'. 

This  device  saves  the  work  of  about  eight  men,  as 
the  rails  do  not  have  to  be  lifted  out  from  between 
the  track  rails,  and  it  also  saves  time  for  the  entire 
crew,  as  they  do  not  have  to  wait  until  the  rails  are 
taken  out  of  the  way.  The  design  of  the  strips  can  be 
varied  to  suit  anv  make  or  class  of  cars.  They  can 
also  be  shifted  up  or  down  the  A-frame  to  suit  local 
conditions.  When  one  car  is  unloaded  the  A-frame 
can  be  lifted  off  and  placed  on  another  car  by  four 
men  and  verv  little  time  is  lost. 


CONSTRUCTLON 


31 


This  device  in  about  this  same  form  has  been  used 
on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Ry.,  Eastern 
Lines,  for  some  little  time  with  considerable  suc- 
cess. 

List  of  track  tools  for  maintenance.     After  the 

construction  of  a  new  road,  the  following  tools  will  be 

required  for  use  on  each  section. 

For  gangs  composed 
of  foreman  and 
Kinds  of  Tools  6         4         2 

men    men    men 

Adzes,    with    handles 2 

Axes,  chopping,  with  handles   1 

Ballast    template     1 

Ballast    forks    (stone   ballast   sections) 4 

Bars,    claw 3 

Bars,    lining    6 

Brooms,    common    2 

"  rattan     6 


Cans,  oiler  for  hand  car   1 

"■      one  gallon   oil    1 

"      five    gallons    oil     1 

Cars,  hand    1 

"      push    1 

Chain   for    locking    2 

Chisels,   track    6 


Cups     

Funnels     

Grindstones    

Handles,  extra  for 


(< 


Hand 
Hoes, 


adze   . 
axe     . 

picks 
sledge 


or  spike  maul, 


axe 


1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
C 
1 
1 


scuffle   (gravel  section  only)    6 

Jacks,  Track   #1    " 2 

Kegs,  water  15  gal 1 

Lanterns,    white    complete    4 

"  red  "         4 

"  yellow  "  4 

"  green  "  2 

Lantern  Globes,  white     2 

red    2 

"        yellow 2 


2 
1 
1 

2 
2 
4 
2 
4 


4 
2 
1 
3 
3 
4 
2 
2 
2 
2 


2 
1 
1 
0 
2 
2 
2 
2 


2 
2 
4 
2 
2 
2 
2 


32  THE  TRACKJMAN'S  HELPER 

For  gangs  composed 
of  foreman  and 

Kinds  of  Tools  6 

men 

Lantern   Globes,   green    2 

Level,  track   1 

Mauls,  spike,  with  handles .  4 

Picks,   common    6 

tamping,  stone  ballast  sections   6 

Pliers,  wire    1 

Post  hole  digger   1 

Punch,  track,  round  with  handles   1 

Rakes,  on  gravel  sections   1 

Saw,   hand 1 

"      crosscut    1 

Scythes,  briar  or  grass  complete 6 

Shovels,  track    7 

Signals,  flags,  red    3 

"  '•      green     3 

'•      vellow   3 

Sledge,  14  lbs.  with  handles 1 

it  o       "  '>'  <<  1 

Spike  puller  1 

Tape  line,  50  ft 1 

Torch   1 

Torpedoes    40 

Track  gages   ^ 2 

Whetstones •  .  6 

Wire  stretcher   1 

Wrenches,  Monkev,  14"  1 

Track  ' 7 

Switch  (2  sizes)    2 

Wire,  telegraph  ( 100  ft.  coil)    1 

Force  required  for  double  tracking.  The  follow- 
ing- notes  were  published  in  Ry.  Eng.  &  M,  of  W. 

"The  proper  distribution  of  laborers  is  dependent 
on  class,  size,  and  weight  of  material,  as  well  as  on  the 
class  of  labor  employed.  Individual  opinions  and 
methods  of  foremen  also  cause  differences  in  distribu- 
tion of  men.  After  a  grade  has  been  completed  and 
the  ties  lined  and  spaced  approximately,  a  gang  may 
be  organized  as  follows,  subject  to  the  supervision  of 
one  foreman  and  one  assistant: 


4 

2 

men 

men 

2 

2 

1 

1 

3 

2 

5 

3 

5 

3 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

5 

3 

5 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

40 

40 

2 

1 

5 

3 

1 

1 

1 

1 

5 

3 

9 

2 

1 

1 

CONSTRUCTION  33 

Tie   fiddler    1  Spike  and  bolt  peddler 1 

Tie  spacers   2  or  4  Spikers    12 

Steel  gang    12  Tie   nippers    6 

Rail   nipper    1  Gage   liner    1 

Strap  hangers    2  Back   bolters    2 

Strap  tighteners    2  Tool  man    1 

Joint  plate  peddler    1  Water   boy    1 

''The  tie  fiddler  is  provided  with  a  fiddle,  i.e.,  a  short 
board  with  a  cleat  nailed  on  it  at  right  angles  near 
one  end.  The  distance  from  the  inside  edge  of  the 
cleat  to  the  end  of  the  board  is  the  standard  distance 
for  the  rail  base  from  the  end  of  the  tie.  This  fiddle 
is  held  on  the  face  of  the  tie  with  the  cleat  securely 
against  the  end,  and  a  mark  made  on  the  tie  along  the 
uncleated  end  of  the  fiddle.  The  outside  track  spike 
should  be  set  on  this  line  when  spiking.  Before  mark- 
ing a  tie,  the  fiddler  should  examine  it,  and  be  sure 
that  the  bark  side  is  up.  The  tie  fiddler  will  gen- 
erally be  able  to  run  ahead  of  the  gang  without  diffi- 
culty. He  should  also  set  the  tie  line.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  is  handy  to  have  a  board  of  such  a  length 
that  if  one  end  is  placed  against  the  ball  of  the  rail 
in  the  old  track,  the  opposite  end  will  show  the  propel' 
line  for  the  new  track  ties. 

"Two  tie  spacers  work  behind  the  tie  fiddler.  They 
are  provided  with  a  rod  of  the  same  length  as  the  rail 
which  is  to  be  laid.  The  marks  for  tie  centers  for 
one  rail  length  are  marked  off  on  the  rod,  which  is 
laid  on  the  ground  with  the  rear  end  even  with  the 
head  end  of  the  last  rail  laid.  This  rod  should  be 
used  on  the  line  side,  as  the  line  rail  is  set  up  first. 
Picks  are  generally  used  by  the  tie  spacers  in  dragging 
the  ties  to  center.  The  pick  point  (if  pick  is  used) 
should  be  stuck  in  the  end  of  the  tie  and  never  in 
the  top  or  side.  When  spacing  ties  the  man  on 
the  line  side  pulls  the  ties  to  the  line  (previously 
stretched),  and  the  man  on  the  gage  side  places 
the  end  of  his  tie  so  that  it  lies  square  across  the 


34  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

grade.  The  tie  spacers  must  space  ties  for  a  full 
rail  length  while  the  steel  gang  is  setting  up  two 
rails.  Possibly  four  tie  spacers  may  be  needed 
in  some  cases  in  order  not  to  delay  the  rail  gang. 
The  spacers  must  also  inspect  all  joint  ties,  and 
if  they  are  deficient  in  size  or  quality,  they  should 
be  exchanged  for  those  of  better  grade.  In  lining  ties 
they  should  not  be  pulled  up  against  the  tie  line,  but 
should  be  left  about  y^^-mch  away.  If  the  ties  are 
allowed  to  touch  the  line,  some  of  them  are  bound  to 
throw  a  kink  into  it.  If  broken  joints  are  being  used 
in  the  track,  the  work  of  tie  spacing  is  increased. 
Several  ties  near  the  middle  of  the  line  rail  will  have 
to  be  shifted  in  order  to  fit  the  joint  slots  on  the  gage 
rail. 

^^The  rail  gang  picks  up  the  rail,  sets  the  rear  end 
on  the  ties,  at  the  same  time  entering  the  rail  ball  into 
the  angle  bars  hung  on  the  rail  previously  laid.  The 
head  end  of  the  rail  is  dropped  at  a  word  from  the 
heeler,  and  this  movement  throws  the  rail  into  proper 
position  in  the  angle  bars.  The  heeler  now  gives  the 
command  'heel,'  and  the  rail  is  pulled  backward 
against  an  expansion  shim,  inserted  between  the 
ends  of  the  rails.  In  setting  up  the  line  side  the 
assistant  foreman  should  see  that  the  rail  is  set  as 
near  as  may  be  to  its  correct  line,  as  shown  by  the 
fiddled  chalk  marks  on  the  tie.  The  gage  rail  should 
also  be  placed  approximately  in  correct  position. 
For  this  purpose  a  light  wooden  gage  can  be  used ;  if 
none  is  furnished,  one  may  be  easily  made  with  a 
board  and  a  couple  of  blocks  of  w^ood.  If  the  rails 
are  set  up  as  described,  scarcely  any  ties  will  have  to 
be  lined  up  by  the  line  spikers ;  the  work  of  the  gaging 
spikers  is  also  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  the  track 
when  finished  will  be  approximately  in  correct  line, 
so  that  work  is  saved  the  lining  gang  as  well  as  the 
spikers. 


CONSTRUCTION  35 


i  i 


In  order  to  facilitate  setting  up  a  rail  and  putting 
it  in  its  proper  place  in  the  angle  bars,  a  'nipper' 
is  provided.  He  carries  a  bar  to  raise  the  angle  bars 
or  rails  as  necessary. 

^'The  strap  hangers  use  short  handled  wrenches, 
these  being  handier  and  permitting  faster  work  than 
long  handled  ones.  The  latter  are  not  necessary  as 
the  strappers  are  required  only  to  start  the  nuts,  and 
not  to  tighten  them.  When  a  rail  is  set  up,  the  strap- 
per hangs  a  pair  of  angle  bars  on  the  head  end.  As 
the  next  rail  is  heeled  into  place  he  puts  in  a  bolt 
through  the  rail  being  placed,  and  after  giving  the 
nut  a  few  rapid  turns,  goes  ahead  and  repeats  the 
operation.  Two  bolt  tighteners  follow,  and  tighten 
the  nuts  which  the  strappers  have  started. 

^'The  joint  plate  peddler  places  the  joint  plates 
under  the  rail  in  the  proper  position  for  spiking. 
The  spike  and  bolt  peddler  distributes  four  spikes 
for  each  tie,  and  enough  bolts  and  nut-locks  at  each 
joint  to  finish  bolting  in  full.  These  two  men  should 
work  together  and  help  each  other  out  whenever  neces- 
sary. 

"Before  spiking  a  tie,  the  nipper  on  the  head  gang 
of  spikers  should  see  that  the  outside  of  the  base  of 
rail  is  nearly  in  line  with  the  chalk  line  marks  on 
the  ties.  If  it  is  not  in  line,  he  should  move  the 
rail  over  approximately  to  line  with  his  nipping 
bar. 

'^The  outside  line  spiker  sets  the  outside  spike  on 
the  Addled  mark,  and  gives  it  one  heavy  blow  with 
the  spike  maul.  The  nipper  then  raises  the  tie  up 
against  the  rail  with  a  bar,  using  as  a  heel  the  nipping 
block.  The  operation  shoves  the  ties  over  until  the 
line  spike  sets  snugly  against  the  rail.  The  inside 
spiker  then  sets  his  spike,  and  both  spikes  are  driven. 
The  spikers  work  in  six  gangs,  three  on  each  side  of 
the  track.     The  head  gang  spikes  every  third  tie,  the 


36  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

second  gang  takes  the  tie  just  behind  it,  and  the  third 
gang  spikes  the  remaining  tie.  The  rail,  when  spiked, 
should  have  a  solid  bearing.  If  the  face  of  the  tie 
does  not  afford  a  good  even  bearing,  the  gage  spikers 
must  adze  oft'  the  part  of  the  tie  beneath  the  rail,  so 
that  a  good  bearing  is  assured.  In  having  the  gangs 
spike  every  third  tie  there  are  the  following  advan- 
tages: (1)  Twelve  to  16  spikers  may  be  kept  work- 
ing in  a  distance  of  60  feet  or  less,  and  being  close 
together,  allow  easy  supervision  by  the  foreman.  In 
the  older  method — i.e.,  each  gang  spiking  a  rail  length 
in  full — the  spikers  frequently  become  scattered  over 
a  distance  of  200  to  300  feet.  Spikes  should  be  driven 
perpendicularly  and  uniformly  on  the  corresponding 
edges  of  the  ties  and  to  accomplish  this  it  is  necessary 
to  have  the  men  close  enough  together  so  that  the 
foreman  can  easily  watch  each  man;  (2)  Any  gang 
of  spikers  must  do  as  much  work  as  the  head  spikers, 
or  fall  behind,  since  the  gangs  are  spiking  tie  for  tie. 
It  is  easy  in  this  manner  to  discover  an  unwilling  or 
incompetent  man;  (3)  By  putting  the  best  gangs  in 
the  lead  on  each  side  of  the  track  a  greater  amount 
of  work  is  accomplished.  The  back  bolters  bolt  the 
joints  in  full  and  turn  up  each  nut  as  tight  as  pos- 
sible. Back  bolting  requires  little  skill  and  only  ordi- 
nary strength ;  this  is  a  good  place  to  start  in  green 
or  inexperienced  men. 

^'The  tool  man  is  one  of  the  most  important  men  on 
the  gang.  If  a  good  trustworthy  man  is  selected  he 
may  save  the  foreman  much  responsibility.  He  is 
held  accountable  for  the  number  of  tools  on  the  work 
each  day,  and  also  for  the  tools  in  the  tool  boxes. 
The  condition  and  supply  of  tools  can  be  left  entirely 
with  him;  in  case  any  are  in  bad  order,  it  is  his  busi- 
ness to  exchange  them  for  good  tools;  if  necessary 
he  must  use  his  own  ingenuity  in  repairing  those  on 


CONSTRUCTION  37 

hand  or  in  'borrowing'  from  other  gangs.  A  live 
tool  man  will  be  on  the  lookout  and  know  when  new 
tools  arrive  on  the  job,  and  thus  be  sure  of  obtaining 
his  share.  Although  little  hard  work  is  required,  a 
tool  man  should  be  chosen  who  is  industrious,  reliable 
and  intelligent. 

"A  very  handy  way  of  taking  care  of  tools  and  sur- 
plus material,  in  double  tracking,  is  to  have  a  push 
car  on  the  track  which  is  being  built;  the  tool  boxes 
are  kept  on  this  car.  The  tool  man  shoves  the  car 
along  as  the  work  advances;  he  takes  out  the  shims 
and  picks  up  all  scattered  tools  and  light  track  ma- 
terial, loading  them  on  the  car.  In  this  manner  ex- 
cess tools  and  materials  are  convenient  for  emergen- 
cies. 

"When  setting  up  rail,  the  assistant  foreman  has 
charge  only  of  the  steel  gang,  strappers,  tie  spacers, 
and  the  fiddler.  If  these  men  are  able  to  run  far 
ahead  of  the  spikers,  setting  up  rail  can  be  dis- 
continued and  the  rail  gang  organized  into  spikers, 
bolters,  etc.  The  assistant  foreman  is  responsible  for 
proper  expansion  in  the  track  and  must  be  careful  to 
use  a  uniform  thickness  of  shim. 

''The  foreman  will  generally  have  to  instruct  his 
assistant  as  to  the  proper  thickness  of  shim  to  use, 
and  when  to  change  to  a  thicker  or  thinner  size.  The 
temperature  of  the  steel  is  what  should  govern,  and 
not  the  temperature  of  the  air.  The  temperature  of 
steel,  in  general,  lags  below  the  air  temperature  in  the 
morning,  and  loses  its  heat  less  rapidly  than  the  air 
in  the  afternoon.  If  a  subgrade  is  rough  and  uneven 
a  greater  allowance  should  be  made  for  expansion,  as 
the  track  will  shorten  when  brought  up  to  surface. 
The  track  laid  should  be  lined  at  the  end  of  each  day 
to  prevent  shortening.  The  track  laid  in  one  day  will 
move  ahead  when  the  short  kinks  are  lined  out,  but 


38  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

if  lining  is  neglected  for  several  days  the  weight  of 
the  track  becomes  too  great  to  move  ahead,  and  all 
lengthening  caused  by  kinks  being  straightened  will 
be  made  up  by  a  decrease  in  the  expansion. 

^'In  case  the  number  of  men  is  too  small  to  organ- 
ize completely  for  all  the  necessary  operations  in 
track  laying,  some  of  the  work  can  be  done  before 
starting  to  lay  track.  Peddling  material,  fiddling  and 
lining  ties  may  be  done  beforehand.  Spiking  can  be 
partially  done  while  setting  up  the  steel  and  back 
bolting  can  be  done  after  the  steel  is  set  up  and  spiked 
to  gage.  Track  should  be  jointed  up  and  gaged  when 
laying,  in  order  to  obtain  correct  expansion.  If  rails 
are  set  up  and  the  angle  bars  not  put  on,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  keep  some  of  the  expansion  shims  from  falling 
out,  and  the  ends  of  rails  are  liable  to  run  past  and 
necessitate  shifting  a  number  of  them,  when  jointing 
up  later. 

"The  foreman  is  responsible  for  both  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  work  done.  He  must  organize  the 
gang,  and  must  be  ready  at  any  time  to  make  changes 
necessary  on  account  of  the  absence  of  laborers.  If  a 
number  of  men  leave  at  the  same  time  and  new  men 
are  not  available,  the  whole  gang  must  be  reorgan- 
ized. As  the  assistant  foreman's  time  is  constantly 
taken  up  by  the  rail  gang,  the  foreman  must  super- 
vise the  spiking  and  back  bolting  as  well  as  inspect 
the  work  of  the  assistant  foreman." 

Cost  of  machine  tracklaying  and  organization  of 
gang  on  Erie  R.  R.  in  1910. 

The  following  data  on  tracklaying  by  machine  are 
given  by  Mr.  C.  K.  Conrad,  Assistant  Engineer  for 
the  work  in  the  low-grade  freight  line  from  Guymard 
to  Highland  Mills  of  the  Erie  R.  R.,  in  the  Railway 
Age-Gazette  for  June  3,  1910.  A  Hurley  tracklaying 
machine  was  used. 

After  many  trials  with  fewer  men,  it  was  found 


CONSTRUCTION  39 

that  the  best  results  were  obtained  with  51  men,  work- 
ing as  follows: 

1  General  foreman. 
1   Foreman. 

1  Lineman  stretching  a  light  rope  at  proper  offset  distance 

from   center   line. 

2  Tie  spacers. 

1  Tie  marker,  placing  marks  on  ties  so  that  center  of  tie 
will  be  set  midway  between  rails. 

1  Clamp  man,  applying  hoisting  clam.p  to  rails  before  low- 
ering. 

1  Clamp    man    on    ground    disengaging    hoisting    clamp    and 

steadjdng  rail. 
8  Spikers,  four  to  each  rail. 
4  Nippers,  two  to  each  rail. 

2  Bolters,  one  to  each  rail. 

1  Clamper,  holding  angle  bars  for  bolts. 

2  Barmen,  holding  rail  to  gage. 
1  Spike  peddler. 

26         Total  in  front  of  wheels  of  machine. 

1  Engineer,  in  charge  of  the  machine. 

1  Assistant,  working  rail  conveyor,   as  rails   leave   the   fric- 
tion rolls. 
1   Bolter,  removing  bolts  as  rails  leave  the  roll. 
1  Fireman. 

1  Watchman    (night). 

2  Feeding  ties  to  dogs  at  rear  of  machine. 

7  Total  on  machine. 

2  Breaking  out  ties. 

8  Spacing  ties. 

1  \yatching  and  guiding  ties. 

11       Total  attending  to  the  ties. 

1  At  rear  hoist. 

1  Advancing  rails  on  rollers. 

2  Placing  angle  bars,  and  one  bolt  on  front  end  of  rail. 
2  Bolting  to  forward  rails. 

1  Tightening  bolts. 

7       Total  feeding  the  rail. 


40  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Cost  of  laying  track.  Nearly  all  of  the  second 
track  on  the  Erie  &  Jersey  was  laid  by  hand.  As  most 
railway  companies  are  familiar  with  this  cost  on  their 
own  line,  it  seems  advantageous  to  compare  it  with 
the  cost  of  the  first  track  in  order  to  give  a  correct  idea 
of  what  the  cost  with  the  machine  would  be  under  the 
same  conditions. 

With  a  machine  laying  a  mile  per  day  the  cost  was 
as  follows: 

Laying  track  hy  machine 

1  General  foreman  at  $5.00 $  5.00 

1  Engineer  at  $5.00 5.00 

1  Fireman  at  $2.25 2.25 

1  Foreman  at  $3.50 3.50 

50  Laborers  at  $L50 75.00 

1  Watchman    (night) ,  at  $2.25 2.25 

Machine,  coal   and  oil 30.00 

Full  bolting  and  spiking  after  passage  of  machine: 

1  General  foreman  at  $5.00 $     5.00 

1  Foreman  at  $3.50 3.50 

50  Laborers  at  $L50 75.00 

Loading  materials — ties : 

1  Foreman  at  $3.00 * $     3.00 

35  Laborers  at  $1.50 52.50 

Engine  and  crew 35.00 

Rails  and  fastenings: 

1  Foreman    at    $2.00 $     2.00 

20  Laborers    at    $1.50 30.00 

Total    $  32.00 

6,963  lin.  ft.  of  rail  and  fastenings  loaded: 

This  gives  per  mile  of  track $  48.53 

Engine  and  crew 35.00 

Total  rail  and  fastenings $  83.53 

Total  per  mile  of  track $380.53 


CONSTRUCTION  41 

Laying  second  track  by  hand 

Spacing  ties,  spiking  and  full  bolting  3,000  ft. : 

2  Foremen    at    $3.00 $     6.00 

74  Laborers   at   $1.50 $111.00 


Total    $117.00 

Per   mile    $205.92 

Loading  ties: 

1  Foreman  at  $3.00 $  3.00 

74  Laborers  at  $1.50 52.50 

$55.50 

Unloading  ties: 

1  Foreman  at  $3.00 $  3.00    ' 

6  Laborers  at  $1.50 9.00 

$12.00 

Engine    and    crew 35.00 

$102.50 

Loading  rail  and  fastenings,  same  as  for  machine $  48.53 

Unloading  rail  and  fastenings: 

2  Foremen    at    $2.00 $     4.00 

28  Laborers   at   $1.50 42.00 


Total    $  46.00 

Above  worked  four   hours 18.40     18.40 


Total  per  mile  of  track $375.35 

It  should  be  realized,  of  course,  that  these  figures  do 
not  represent  the  cost  of  continuing  the  work  day  by 
day ;  but  they  are  representative  figures  for  each  class 
of  work  under  similar  conditions.  The  cost  of  laying 
the  first  track  of  a  double  track  railway  by  hand  is 
variable,  depending  largely  on  the  accessibility  of  the 
roadbed  for  teams,  as  the  ties  are  usuallv  transferred 
from  the  tie  car  to  the  front  by  this  means.  The 
second  track  should  be  laid  at  a  fairly  regular  cost. 

So  far  as  the  track  laid  by  machine  is  concerned, 
it  is  not  possible  at  this  date  to  determine  which  track 
was  so  laid.     When  laying  down  grade  there  is  a  tend- 


42  THE  TPvACKMAN'S  HELPER 

enc}^  to  open  the  joints.  Clips  for  the  proper  tem- 
perature expansion  are  a  necessity.  From  the  ex- 
perience with  the  machine  the  following  may  be  ac- 
cepted: (1)  On  a  new  line  25  miles  long,  or  more, 
the  machine  will  prove  economical.  (2)  The  track 
laid  with  the  machine  will  be  as  satisfactory  as  track 
laid  by  hand.  (3)  The  organization  will  be  reduced 
in  number  by  150  to  200  men.  (4)  It  is  feasible  to 
lay  one  mile  of  track  per  day  up  to  a  limit  of  12  or 
15  miles  from  the  supply  base.  (5)  The  danger  of 
injury  to  men  is  largely  reduced. 


II 


SPIKING  AND   GAGING 


No.  of  spikes  per  mile  of  single  traqjk. 


Size 
Meas'd 
Under 

Head 


P-iO 
O  (M 


Kegs  per  Mile,     (4  Spikes  to  a  Tie) 


Using  33  ft.  Rails 

20         18         16 

Ties  per  E^il 


Using  30  ft.  Rails    Ties 

18         16         14      2  ft. 

Ties  per  Rail     C  to  C 


OQ 

u 

X 

u 
o 


1^ 


6  X  %  260 
6  X  9/i6  350 
51/^  X  %  290 
51/2x9/16  375 
5  X  %6  400 
5  xi/o  450 
4V^  X  1/2  530 
41/2x7/16  680 


49.2 
36.6 
44.1 
34.1 
32.0 
28.5 
24.2 
18.8 


44.3 
32.9 
39.7 
30.7 
28.8 
25.6 
21.8 
17.0 


39.4 
29.3 
35.3 
27.3 
25.6 
22.8 
19.3 
15.1 


48.7 
36.2 
43.7 
33.8 
31.7 
28.2 
23.9 
18.6 


43.3 
32.2 

38.8 
30.0 
28.2 
25.0 
21.3 
16.6 


37.9 
28.2 
34.0 
26.3 
24.6 
21.9 
18.6 
14.5 


40.6  =^  ^ 
30.2  S  S 

28.2  ^  ^ 

26.4  bjD 

23.5  .S 
19.9  « 

15.5'S 

o 


Spikes  per  i-i 

mile    12800  11520  10240  12672  11264     9856  10560 

No  allowance  made  in  this  table  for  broken  or  lost  spikes. 

Hints  about  spiking.     Track  should  always  be  kept 

full  spiked  and  in  perfect  gage.     In  order  to  keep  it 

thus,  a  gage  of  the  standard  width  should  be  used, 

and  when  track  is  spiked  the  gage  should  be  squared 

across,  about  six  or  eight  inches  ahead  of  the  tie,  and 

remain  between  the  rails  until  the  tie  is  spiked.     The 

outside  spike  should  not  be  allowed  to  draw  the  rail 

too  tight  on  the  gage  or  to  be  driven  loosely,  which 

would  affect  the  width  of  the  track  after  the  gage  is 

lifted.     "When  gage  is  tight,  start  inside  spike  first; 

when  loose,  start  the  outside  spike  first.     Bad  gaging 

detracts  from  the  appearance  of  an  otherwise  good 

43 


44  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELrER 

track  and  makes  the  track  more  likely  to  be  kicked  out 
of  line.  To  be  driven  properly  a  spike  should  rest 
upon  its  point  almost  vertically  when  receiving  the 
first  stroke,  M^hicli,  if  delivered  properly,  will  leave 
the  spike  perfectly  straight  up  and  down  which  is  the 
way  it  should  be  continued.  Care  should  be  taken 
never  to  strike  the  last  blow  on  a  spike  too  hard,  as 
this  may  crack  the  head  or  break  it  off,  rendering  the 
spike  useless. 

To  draw  a  spike  in  frosty  weather,  or  to  draw  a 
spike  out  of  an  oak  tie  at  any  time  of  the  year,  tap 
the  spike  on  the  head  with  a  spike  maul  once 
or  twice  before  attempting  to  pull  it  out  of  the  tie 
with  the  claw  bar.  In  most  cases  there  will  then  be 
no  difficulty  in  pulling  the  spike  without  breaking  it. 
Tapping  the  spike  with  the  maul  loosens  its  hold 
on  the  wood  of  the  tie  and  makes  it  easier  to  re- 
move. If  an  opposite  course  be  pursued  and  track- 
men try  to  pull  spikes  without  doing  as  above  di- 
rected, a  great  number  of  them  Avill  break  off  under 
the  head. 

Where  to  drive  spikes.  The  spikes  should  be 
driven  about  two  and  one-half  inches  from  the  edge 
of  a  track  tie.  Both  inside  spikes  should  be  driven 
on  one  edge  of  a  tie  and  both  outside  ones  on  the  other 
edge  in  order  to  prevent  the  tie  slewing  and  also  to 
assist  in  holding  the  rail  from  creeping.  The  spikes 
take  a  better  hold  in  the  wood  of  a  tie,  and  support 
the  tie  under  the  rail  better  when  driven  in  this 
wa.y.  An  oak  tie  will  split  open  on  the  ends  in  frosty 
weather  if  the  spikes  are  driven  in  the  center  of  the 
tie,  which  will  cause  it  to  decay  more  quickly  and 
necessitate  its  removal  from  the  track  before  the  tie 
which  remains  whole.  Another  reason  why  the  track 
spikes  should  be  driven  in  the  sides  of  the  ties  is  that 
the  timber  in  the  center  of  most  ties  is  softer,  while 
as  a  rule  the  sides  of  the  ties  are  sound. 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING 


45 


The  diagram,  Fig.  5,  shows  the  correct  and  incor- 
rect methods  employed  in  regard  to  the  location  of 
the  spikes  on  the  outside  and  inside  of  the  rail.  An 
examination  of  these  sketches  will  bring  this  subject 
to  the  proper  view  point  more  easily  than  a  great 
amount  of  explanation  would,  if  it  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  end  of  the  tie  on  the  outside  of  the  curve  is 
the  one  that  is  shoved  ahead  more  than  the  end  on 


Incorrect 


Correct 
SpiKing 


Correct 
SpiKingo 


Direction  of  Traffic 

■  <  — 

•^  and  Creeping 


Direction  of  Traffic 
and  Creeping 

Incorrect 
Spiking 

Correct  Spiking 


Correct/ 
Spiking 


Fig.  5. 


Correct   and   Incorrect   Methods   of   Phicing   Spikes 


the  inside,  which  is  due  to  the  tendency  of  the  out- 
side rail  to  creep  more  (doubtless  on  account  of  the 
sliding  of  wheels  because  of  those  on  the  outside  mak- 
ing the  greater  distance).  The  rule  which  should  be 
followed  for  selecting  the  best  location  for  spikes  to 
counteract  the  creeping  and  transfer  the  strain  to 
the  ballast  through  the  medium  of  the  ties,  which  is 
the  way  the  strain  must  eventually  be  resisted,  is  as 
follows : — 

On  double  track  the  inside  spikes  should  be  placed 


46  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

at  the  receiving  side  of  the  tie  and  the  outside  spikes 
at  the  leaving  side.  On  single  track  the  outside  spikes 
should  be  placed  at  the  side  of  the  tie  in  the  direction 
of  creeping  and  the  inside  spikes  at  the  other  side. 

Screw  spikes.  The  following  notes  appeared  in  the 
Railway  Age  Gazette: 

' '  The  first  installation  of  screw  spikes  of  any  magni- 
tude was  one  of  a  half  mile  on  the  Santa  Fe  near 
Topeka,  Kan.,  in  1908.  Since  that  time  the  mileage 
has  risen  over  200  miles  annually.  The  Santa  Fe  has 
over  150  miles  of  screw  spike  track  and  is  now  (1915) 
placing  them  in  eight  ties  per  rail  on  the  western 
lines  when  laying  new  90-lb.  rail  to  secure  a  more 
rigid  track  construction.  The  Lackawanna  is  the 
largest  user  of  screw  spikes,  having  employed  them 
exclusively^  in  main  tracks  for  both  renewal  and  con- 
struction work  for  the  past  four  years,  until  it  now 
(1915)  has  over  12,000,000  in  service.  This  line  is 
one  of  relatively  heavy  grades  and  curvature  with  an 
average  density  of  traffic  of  about  4,000,000  ton  miles 
and  600,000  passenger  miles  per  mile  of  line  for  the 
svstem,  which  figures  are  trebled  if  the  main  line  only 
is  considered,  so  that  the  service  is  unusually  severe. 

'' Wherever  introduced,  the  screw  spike  has  en- 
countered the  opposition  of  the  track  men,  who  have 
pointed  out  numerous  objections.  The  one  most  em- 
phasized has  been  the  difficulty  of  removing  the 
spikes  w^hen  necessary  to  replace  rails  following  de- 
railments or  during  relaying  operations.  The  Lacka- 
wanna has  a  dense  freight  traffic  on  heavy  grades, 
and  therefore  has  its  share  of  derailments.  It  has 
been  the  experience  of  this  road  that  by  providing  a 
stronger  track  the  screw  spikes  have  materially  de- 
creased its  destruction  as  well  as  the  delay  to  traffic 
while  it  was  being  repaired.  Another  threatened  dis- 
advantage that  has  not  been  encountered  in  the  ex- 
perience of  the  Lackawanna  is  difficulty  in  keeping 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  47 

the  screw  spikes  tight.  To  offset  these  real  or  fancied 
disadvantages,  screw  spike  track  construction  gives  a 
stronger  track,  requires  less  maintenance  after  in- 
stallation and  greatly  retards  the  destruction  of  the 
ties. 

''To  secure  the  greatest  advantages  from  the  use  of 
screw  spikes  in  the  conservation  of  ties  corresponding 
standards  must  be  adopted  throughout  the  track  con- 
struction. It  is  obvious  that  it  is  not  economical  to 
use  screw  spikes  with  untreated  soft  wood  ties  or 
without  adequate  tie  plates.  While  not  so  obvious  at 
first  glance,  it  is  also  important  that  the  ties  be  prop- 
erly adzed  and  bored  before  treatment  to  retard  de- 
struction uniformly.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this 
connection  that  the  use  of  screw  spikes  has  enabled 
the  Lackawanna  to  secure  sufficient  resistance  against 
track  spreading  by  using  a  flat  bottom  tie  plate  and 
thus  decreasing  the  abrasion  of  the  tie. 

"Where  traffic  is  heavy  and  the  expenditures  for 
maintenance  are  correspondingly  high,  the  savings  re- 
sulting from  the  adoption  of  a  more  permanent  form 
of  track  construction  are  of  course  greater  than  on 
lines  of  lighter  traffic  where  a  relatively  long  life  is 
secured  from  the  track  materials.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Santa  Fe  is  using  screw  spikes  on  its  western  lines 
where  the  rainfall  is  small  and  the  resistance  of  timber 
to  decay  is  relatively  great,  and  where  the  ties  cus- 
tomarily fail  from  mechanical  wear." 

Comparative  cost  of  cut  and  screw  spiking  are 
given  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Kendrick  v.  p.,  A.  T.  &  S.  Fe  R. 
R.  in  Ry.  Eng.  &  M.  of  W. 

He  states  that  the  cost  of  driving  screw  spikes  is 
based  on  work  done  under  unfavorable  conditions  on 
the  Illinois  Div.  in  1909,  and  says  that  under  ordi- 
nary conditions  there  should  be  little  difference  in 
cost  of  the  two  kinds  of  spikes. 

A  proper  machine  at  the  treating  plant  will  bore 


48  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

and  plug-  600  ties,  with  8  plug's  each,  per  day  of  10 
hours,  at  a  cost  of  3i^f''  per  tie.  The  cost  of  making 
the  plugs  will  be  about  ly^f  each.  The  cost  of  screw 
spikes  will  be  2.7^*  each :  of  tie  plates  21^  each.  The 
cost  of  cut  spikes  will  be  1.06^-  each.  Assuming  3,000 
ties  per  mile  of  track,  with  4  spikes  per  tie,  assuming 
that  the  same  types  of  tie  plates  are  used  both  with 
screw  and  cut  spikes,  and  that  8  wooden  dowels  are 
provided  for  the  plates  with  screw  spikes,  and  no 
dowels  are  provided  for  cut  spikes,  the  relative  cost 
per  mile  of  track  would  be  as  follows : 

One  mile  of  track  witli  screw  spikes  and  dowels. 

12,000  spikes  at  2.7c  each   $    324.00 

6,000  lie  plates  at  21(J  each    1,260.00 

Boring  ties  for,  and  driving,'  24,000  dowels  at  1^  each      240.00 

24.000  wooden  dowels  at  li^c  each 300.00 

Driving  screw  spikes   (per  mile)    1.50.00 

Total    $2,334.00 

One  mile  with  cut  spikes. 

12,000  spikes,  at  1.06<'-    $    127.20 

6,000  tie  plates  at  21(J  each    1,260.00 

Driving  cut  spikes   (per  mile)    150.00 

Total    $1,537.20 

Experience  in  the  use  of  screw  spikes.  The  fol- 
lowing notes  give  a  comi^rehensive  outline  of  the  ex- 
perience up  to  that  time  on  American  railroads. 

"The  general  use  of  screw  spikes  in  both  new  con- 
struction and  maintenance  on  the  D.  L.  &  W.  R.  R. 
was  started  at  the  beginjiing*  of  1910,  and  during  the 
past  five  seasons  there  have  been  placed  in  new  tracks 
and  in  maintenance  of  old  tracks  5.120,000  flat-bot- 
tom tie  plates  and  approximately  12,272,000  screw 
spikes. 

"As  would  be  expected  some  mistakes  were  at  first 
made,  and  no  doubt  later  developments  will  change 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  49 

some  of  the  present  practice.  As  a  whole,  however, 
the  screw  spike  installation  has  proven  very  satisfac- 
tory, and  no  conditions  have  developed  such  as  to 
cause  any  doubt  about  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
undertaking'.  Many  minor  difficulties  which  had 
been  anticipated  have  not  developed.  It  was  fully 
expected  that  no  small  amount  of  trouble  would  be 
experienced  from  derailments,  changing  out  broken 
rails,  difficulty  in  gaging  track  on  sharp  curves,  etc. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  state  that,  to  the  writer's  knowl- 
edge, we  have  never  had  a  derailment  where  the 
screw  spikes  have  not  been  very  much  less  damaged 
than  the  cut  spikes  in  the  same  locality,  and  very 
seldom  has  a  derailment  broken  off  any  screw  spikes 
or  damaged  them  to  such  an  extent  that  they  did  not 
continue  to  firmly  hold  the  rail  in  place.  There  have 
been  many  cases  of  derailment  where  it  was  not  nec- 
essary to  remove  a  screw  spike,  whereas  nearly  every 
cut  spike  on  the  damaged  side  of  the  rail  was  de- 
stroyed. Again,  there  have  been  some  derailments 
where  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  bad  accidents  were 
prevented  by  screw  spikes  in  some  of  the  ties  holding 
the  rails  in  position,  whereas  the  cut  spikes  in  the 
other  ties  were  destroyed.  As  to  relaying  rails,  or 
removing  broken  rails,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the 
use  of  screw  spikes  will  require  more  time  to  do  the 
work. 

*'Ties  in  use.  The  Lackawanna  Railroad  first  com- 
menced to  creosote  cross-ties  on  an  extensive  scale  in 
1910.  During-  1910  and  since  that  time  all  main  and 
sidetrack  renewals  have  been  made  with  creosoted 
ties,  excepting  such  chestnut  ties  as  were  available. 
These  chestnut  ties  were  used  in  sidetracks  and  on 
branch  lines,  where  the  service  is  light. 

"From  1905  to  1909  a  good  many  bridge-tie  renew- 
als were  made  with  longleaf  yellow  pine,  treated  with 
12  lbs.  of  creosote  oil  per  cubic  foot.     These  ties  were 


50  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

steamed  at  a  25-lb.  pressure  for  an  average  of  eight 
hours  before  treatment.  'Wolhaupter'  flange  tie 
plates  (6  X  8I/2  x  %-in.)  were  placed  on  all  the  bridge 
ties,  with  the  idea  of  protecting  them.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  ties  varied  with  the  bridge  structure  and 
were  from  8x8  ins.  to  10  x  10  ins.  and  8  x  16  ins. 

''On  the  main-line  bridges  none  of  the  treated 
bridge  ties  have  lasted  to  exceed  eight  years.  Many 
of  them  were  renewed  in  six  and  seven  years.  In 
no  case  was  the  timber  decayed,  but  the  failure  was 
due  to  the  shattering  of  the  wood  fibers  under  the  rail 
seat  and  tie  plates.  As  stated  above,  these  were  all 
longleaf  yellow  pine  ties,  w^th  a  very  small  percent- 
age of  sap.  This  failure  has  been  attributed  (1)  to 
the  fiber  being  injured  by  the  steaming  process  be- 
fore treatment;  and  (2)  to  the  destructive  action  of 
the  flanges  on  the  tie  plates.  A  total  of  535  of  these 
ties  (8x12  ins.)  were  placed  on  the  eastbound  track 
of  a  deck  plate  girder  bridge  on  the  Buffalo  Division 
in  1906,  and  had  to  be  renewed  in  1914.  Untreated 
ties  of  the  same  size,  and  purchased  under  same  speci- 
fications, were  placed  on  westbound  track  of  the  same 
bridge  in  1905  and  are  still  in  service  and  in  fairly 
good  condition.  The  old  flange  tie  plates  were  re- 
moved from  the  deck  of  both  tracks  in  1910  and  re- 
placed with  flat-bottom  plates  and  screw  spikes. 

' '  For  several  jeavs  past  there  have  been  placed  very 
few  chestnut  ties  in  main-line  tracks.  It  was  found 
that  they  did  not  last  to  exceed  five  or  six  years,  on 
account  of  rail  and  tie  plates  cutting  through  them 
Yery  rapidly.  These  same  ties  give  excellent  service 
and  last  many  years  in  yard  tracks  or  on  branch  lines 
where  the  traffic  is  light. 

''As  far  as  possible,  hardwood  ties  are  used  on 
curved  track.  Longleaf  yellow  pine  ties  are  generally 
used  throughout  on  straight  track.  They  are  not  used 
because  they  are  preferable  to  hard  woods,  but  on  ac- 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  51 

count  of  the  difficulty  in  getting  a  sufficient  supply 
of  hard  woods.  A  considerable  number  of  loblolly 
and  wide-ringed  shortleaf  pine  ties  were  treated  and 
placed  in  various  services.  However,  unless  other- 
wise stated,  sap  longieaf  pine  ties  are  referred  to 
where  pine  ties  are  mentioned  throughout  this  report. 
A  good  many  gum,  beech  and  maple  ties  were  treated 
and  placed  in  1910.  These  ties  were  used  in  many 
sharp  curves  and  their  present  condition  will  appear 
later  on. 

"Tie  plates.  For  several  years  it  was  the  practice 
to  use  flanged  tie  plates.  It  was  found,  after  some 
3^ears'  experience,  that  much  damage  was  done  to  the 
ties  by  the  use  of  flange  plates.  It  was,  therefore, 
concluded  that  their  use  should  not  be  further  con- 
sidered, either  in  connection  with  treated  or  untreated 
timber. 

''A  good  flange  plate,  or  something  equivalent 
thereto  in  actual  holding-power,  is  absolutely  nec- 
essary to  hold  gage  on  many  of  the  sharp  curves. 
After  a  careful  investigation  of  all  available  data  on 
screw  spikes,  it  was  concluded  to  adopt  them  as  a 
means  of  holding  track  to  gage,  and  thus  permit  the 
use  of  a  flat-bottom  tie  plate  which  would  not  destroy 
the  fibers  of  the  tie.  Hence,  since  the  spring  of  1910, 
screw  spikes  and  flat-bottom  plates  have  been  used 
generally  in  all  ties  placed  in  main  tracks,  heavy-run- 
ning yard  tracks  and  leads,  but  not  in  light  yard 
tracks.  In  no  case  have  screw  spikes  been  used  with- 
out tie  plates. 

''It  is  necessary  to  have  a  tie  plate  of  sufficient  size 
to  provide  a  safe  bearing  area  for  the  weakest  kind] 
of  wood  used.  As  the  main-track  ties  are  7x9  ins.  x 
8  ft.  6  ins.,  it  was  considered  not  advisable  to  make 
the  tie  plates  wider  than  7  ins. 

''The  first  tie  plates  which  were  rolled  for  our 
screw-spike   construction   were   7  x  101/4   ins.  x  %   in., 


52 


THE  TEACKiAIAN'S  HELPER 


with  raised  lugs  to  support  the  heads  of  two  screw 
spikes  and  with  an  intermediate  shoulder  on  the  out- 
side of  the  rail.  The  plates  were  smooth  on  the  bot- 
tom, and  did  not  have  a  shoulder  or  raised  lug  for 
the  screw-spike  head  on  the  inside  of  the  rail.  The 
following  season  the  plates  were  lengthened  to  10% 
ins.  and  made  %  in.  thick,  with  lugs  for  the  inside 
screw  spikes.  Two  holes  were  also  punched  for  lag 
screws,  one  at  either  end.  About  a  year  ago  they 
were  again  increased  to  %  in.  in  thickness. 

Screw  spikes.  The  first  change  from  the  standard 
cut  spike  fastening  occurred  in  February,  1909.  The 
heads  of  the  screw  spikes  have   been   somewhat   in- 


Fig.  G.     Standard  Screw   Spike  on   D.   L.  &  W.   R.   R. 

creased  from  those  first  used,  on  account  of  the  great 
deterioration  from  rust  caused  by  brine  dripping  at 
certain  points  on  the  line.  The  standard  screw  spike 
now  in  use  is  shown  in  Fig.  6. 

Holes  for  screw  spikes.  The  first  year  that  screw 
spikes  were  used  an  "Ajax"  hand  machine  was  used 
for  boring  all  ties  in  the  field,  a  template  being  used 
to  spot  the  holes.  Creosote  oil  was  poured  into  all  the 
holes  as  soon  as  bored.  In  1911  a  boring  and  adzing 
machine,  manufactured  by  Greenlee  Brothers,  of 
Rockford,  111.,  Avas  installed  at  the  creosoting  plant. 
This  machine  operated  more  or  less  successfully,  but 
was  not  of  sufficient  capacity  nor  lieavy  enough  in 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  53 

construction  to  successfully  handle  heavy  hardwood 
ties.  Accordingly,  two  new  and  larger  machines, 
manufactured  by  the  same  company,  were  installed 
the  fore  part  of  1913.  These  two  machines  have  op- 
erated successfully,  and  have,  without  difficulty,  adzed 
and  bored  5,000  ties  per  day. 

"During  the  year   1914,   523,935   ties  were   adzed 
and  bored,  the  following  data  applying  to  this  work: 


Highest  number  of  ties  adzed  and  bored  in  one  day  by 

one    machine     3,324 

Average  number  of  ties  per  day  per  machine  while  op- 
erating        3,011 

Average  number  of  holes  bored  per  bit  per  sharpening.  .    1,500 

Average  number  of  holes  bored  per  bit 11,000 

"It  would  not  be  safe  to  figure  over  2,500  ties  per 
day  per  machine,  or  62,500  ties  per  month,  working 
single  shift. 

"Eight  men  are  required  to  operate  one  machine. 
In  addition  to  these  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  foreman, 
who  is  also  a  machinist,  to  keep  the  machines  in  re- 
pair and  keep  the  knives  ancl  bits  sharpened  and 
ready  to  put  on  the  machine  when  required. 

"The  cost  per  tie  for  adzing  and  boring,  includ- 
ing the  interest  on  the  investment,  depreciation,  op- 
eration, running  repairs,  electrical  current  for  oper- 
ating the  machines  and  trams,  while  the  latter  are 
taking  ties  to  and  from  the  machine,  does  not  exceed 
11/4  ct.  per  tie. 

"The  ties  are  carried  to  the  machiiie  on  trams, 
which  are  dumped  mechanicall3^  The  machine  is  fed 
by  a  conveyor.  Two  laborers  place  the  ties  on  the 
conveyors.  Two  surfaces  are  adzed  at  the  rail  seat, 
exactly  in  the  same  plane,  regardless  of  the  shape  of 
the  tie.  The  depth  of  cut  can  be  regulated  as  de- 
sired for  perfect  ties.  The  depth  required  to  get  all 
ties  adzed  perfectly  for  the  full  length  of  tie  plates 
depends   upon    the    irregularity    of   the    ties.     After 


54  THE  TRACK:MAN'S  HELPER 

passing  the  adzing  heads,  the  tie  is  centered  at  each 
adzed  surface  by  an  overhead  device  to  insure  that 
the  boring  is  done  in  the  center  of  the  adzed  surfaces. 
The  ties  then  pass  by  conveyor  to  trams  and  are  ready 
for  treatment. 

''These  machines  are  automatic,  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, imperative  that  all  parts  continue  to  work  prop- 
erly while  the  machines  are  running.  Trouble  with 
any  one  part  puts  the  entire  machine  out  of  com- 
mission. 

"Cost  data.  The  following  data  are  a  summation 
of  the  labor  cost  in  connection  with  construction  by 
the  Lackawanna  Kailroad  in  New  Jersey. 

"These  figures  cover  the  entire  line,  amounting  to 
approximately  60  miles  of  main  track: 


Cost   of   boring  by   hand   in   the   field,   2,880  ties  at 

$0,035     $  100.80 

Cost  of  applying  11,520  screw  spikes  at  $0.019 218.88 

Cost  of  laying  track,  less  boring  and  placing  of  screw 

spikes  at  $0,085   per   foot    448.80 

Cost  of  surfacing  5,280  ft.  track  at  $0.17  per  foot 897.60 

Average  cost  of  labor  per  mile  of  main  track $1,666.08 

"The  above  figures  include  the  entire  labor  cost 
for  putting  the  track  in  finished  condition,  but  do  not 
include  any  labor  cost  for  the  distribution  of  mate- 
rials. It  will  also  be  noted  that  the  cost  of  boring 
ties  in  the  field  on  the  above  work  amounted  to  Sy^ 
cts.  per  tie,  whereas  the  boring  and  adzing  of  ties, 
which  is  now  done  before  treatment,  has  not  cost  to 
exceed  1%  ct.  per  tie. 

"Conclusions.  Ties.  (1)  Treated  beech,  birch, 
gum,  hard  maple,  elm  and  probably  other  similar 
woods  may  be  safely  used  with  oak  on  sharp  curves 
where  the  traffic  is  especially  heavy. 

"(2)  From  an  economic  standpoint,  softwood  ties, 
such  as  loblolly  pine,  should  not  be  used  on  tracks  of 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  55 

excessive  trafific,  nor  is  it  advisable  to  use  them  on 
sharp  curves  with  moderately  heavy  traffic.  An  ex- 
pensive fastening  device,  such  as  an  extra  large  and 
heavy  tie  plate  or  chair,  securely  fastened  to  the  tie 
by  fastenings  independent  of  the  spikes  securing  the 
rail,  with  sufficient  room  for  rail  movement  on  the 
tie  plate,  thus  reducing  the  movement  between  plate 
and  tie  to  a  minimum,  would  probably  make  it  prac- 
ticable to  use  softwood  ties  on  straight  track  and  light 
curves  with  moderately  heavy  traffic.  It  is  not  be- 
lieved, however,  that  loblolly  pine,  or  similar  ties, 
can  be  economically  used  with  good  results  on  heavy 
curves,  regardless  of  the  style  of  fastenings. 

''(3)  As  a  rule,  with  woods  which  it  will  pay  to 
treat,  the  poorer  the  quality  of  the  timber  the  more 
elaborate  and  expensive  the  fastening  must  be  if  the 
mechanical  life  of  the  tie  is  made  to  approach  the  life 
of  the  treated  timber. 

''(4)  The  hardest  track  to  maintain,  from  a  tie 
standpoint,  is  on  sharp  curves,  elevated  for  high- 
speed trains,  where  the  speed  of  freight  trains  is  re- 
stricted on  account  of  grade  conditions.  Where  traf- 
fic is  especially  heavy,  such  curves  should  be  provided 
with  the  best  of  hardwood  ties. 

"Tie  Plates.  (1)  Tie  plates  should  be  used  on  all 
ties  where  screw  spikes  are  used. 

''  (2)  The  tie  plates  should  project  well  beyond  the 
base  of  the  rail  on  the  outside  and  less  on  the  inside 
to  counteract  the  tendency  of  rail  to  roll  out. 

"(3)  As  a  rule,  the  required  thickness  of  the  tie 
plates  will  depend  upon  their  projection  beyond  the 
base  of  the  rail,  and  the  traffic. 

*'(4)  Four  holes  should  be  provided  for  screw 
spikes,  so  that  two  extra  holes  will  be  available  if 
needed. 

''(5)  All  holes  should  be  punched  from  the  top 
down  and  be  as  neat  a  fit  for  screw  spikes  as  con- 


50  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELrER 

sistent,  so  as  to  make  all  screw  spikes  act  together  in 
resisting  lateral  pressure.  The  outside  screw  spikes 
should  be  so  protected  by  the  shoulder  on  the  plate  as 
to  prevent  the  rail  base  from  cutting  into  the  screw 
spike  neck;  otherwise,  in  case  of  derailment  and 
sJewed  ties,  it  will  be  found  impossible  to  remove  the 
spikes  without  first  straightening  the  ties. 

"(6)  A  raised  lug,  or  shoulder,  both  inside  and 
outside  of  the  rail  base,  should  be  provided  to  give 
support  to  the  screw  spike  heads.  This  should  as- 
sist in  holding  gage  and  materially  reduces  the 
breakage  of  spikes  and  damage  to  track  in  case  of  de- 
railment. 

**  Spikes.  (1)  The  size  of  screw  spikes  and  the  de- 
sign of  the  thread  should  be  carefully  considered  be- 
fore a  screw  spike  is  adopted.  Thereafter  no  changes 
should  be  made ;  otherwise  the  new  screw  spikes  can- 
not be  used  in  old  holes  without  damaging  the  wood 
fiber. 

"(2)  AYhere  salt  brine  drippings  are  excessive, 
screw-spike  heads  must  be  made  sufficiently  large ; 
otherwise  there  may  be  difficulty  in  the  future  in  re- 
moving the  screw  spikes  from  the  track,  due  to  cor- 
rosion. During  nearly  five  years'  service  no  screw 
spikes  have  been  found  that  were  rusted  within  the 
tie,  and  there  was  no  rust  to  speak  of  below  the 
head,  although  some  spike  heads  were  rusted  so  badly 
that  they  could  not  be  removed  with  the  standard 
tool. 

"(3)  The  screw  spike  head  should  have  tapering 
sides  to  prevent  turning  in  the  wrench  socket  after 
the  size  of  the  head  has  been  diminished  bv  rust. 

''(4)  Any  mechanical  device  for  setting  down 
screw  spikes  must  automatically  release  when  the 
screw  spike  is  seated ;  otherwise  the  screw  spike  is 
apt  to  be  damaged  in  case  of  hardwood  or  the  wood 
fibers  destroved  in  case  of  softwood. 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  57 

'^(5)  Very  little  trouble  is  experienced  by  screw 
spike  lieads  breaking  off,  either  on  account  of  track 
movement  or  derailed  equipment.  The  heads  are,  at 
times,  damaged  to  considerable  extent  by  derailments, 
but  as  a  rule  the  spikes  are  not  broken,  nor  is  their 
holding-power  affected.  Where  screw  spikes  are 
broken  off',  a  device  for  extracting  the  broken  portion 
from  the  old  hole  without  injurj^  to  the  wood  threads 
would  be  a  valuable  appliance. 

' '  ( 6 )  When  screw  spikes  are  fully  seated,  no  fur- 
ther strain  should  be  put  on  them,  as  this  will  tend 
to  destroy  the  threads  in  the  wood  or  injure  the  spikes. 

*"  Holes  for  screw  spikes.  (1)  All  ties  should  be 
bored  at  the  treating  plant  before  treatment.  This 
can  be  done  while  the  ties  are  being  adzed,  and  not 
only  insures  that  the  holes  are  bored  sufficiently  deep, 
but  provides  for  good  treatment  of  all  wood  adjacent 
to  the  spike  holes. 

''(2)  Where  the  ties  are  bored  before  treatment, 
the  track  must  be  to  proper  gage  before  the  ties  can 
be  placed. 

''(3)  The  holes  for  screw  spikes  should  be  of 
proper  dimensions  for  the  class  of  wood  used,  with 
due  regard  to  the  size  of  screw  spike  used. 

''  (4)  A  limited  number  of  holes  can  be  bored  with 
one  bit,  after  which  its  size  will  diminish  so  as  to  make 
it  unfit  for  a  hole  of  given  size. 

^ '  ( 5 )  Holes  should  be  bored  somewhat  deeper  than 
the  length  of  the  screw  spike.  There  is  no  serious  ob- 
jection to  boring  the  holes  clear  through  the  ties. 

"Gage.  (1)  With  oak,  birch,  hard  maple,  gum  or 
longleaf  yellow  pine  ties,  gage  can  be  maintained  with 
a  tlat-bottom  plate,  using  two  screw  spikes  on  straight 
line  and  two  or  three  on  curves. 

''(2)  Heavy  curves  elevated  for  high  speed,  where 
heavy  freight  trains  move  at  a  slow  rate  of  speed,  are 
the  hardest  track  to  keep  to  gage. 


58  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER  ^^^M 

"(3)  Double  spiking  should  be  done  on  the  insme 
of  the  rail. 

"  (4)  Not  only  is  the  lateral  and  vertical  resistance 
of  a  screw  spike  greater  than  that  of  a  cut  spike  when 
both  are  first  applied,  but  the  lateral  and  vertical  re- 
sistance of  a  loose  screw  spike  is  considerably  greater 
than  the  lateral  and  vertical  resistance  of  a  loose  cut 
spike. 

''(5)  When  the  threads  in  the  tie  are  entirely  de- 
stroyed, a  screw  lining  (any  one  of  several  different 
varieties)  may  be  used  with  good  results. 

"General.  (1)  All  ties  should  be  bored  and  adzed 
before  treatment.  This  insures  good  gage,  a  perfect 
bearing  for  the  tie  plates  and  good  treatment  under 
the  rail  seat  and  around  the  screw  spike  holes. 

^'(2)  In  placing  screw  spikes,  they  should  be 
driven  by  hammer  only  sufficient  to  make  the  threads 
take  hold.  If  rigid  instructions  are  not  carried  out, 
laborers  will  continually  over-drive  spikes,  and  thus 
destroy  the  wood  fibers  near  the  top  of  the  holes. 

"  (3)  Screw  spikes  with  fiat-bottom  plates  on  hard- 
w^ood  ties  will  hold  track  to  gage  on  sharp  curves 
under  heavy  traffic.  The  holding  power  of  screw 
spikes  in  hardwood  ties,  after  more  than  four  years' 
service,  is  not  materially  reduced. 

''  (4)  No  screw  spikes  have  ever  been  found  so  loose 
that  they  could  be  easily  pulled  out  of  the  holes,  and 
but  few  have  been  discovered  which  could  be  as  easily 
extracted  as  a  newly-driven  cut  spike.  In  no  case, 
except  with  loblolly  pine  ties,  have  the  threads  in  the 
wood  been  found  weakened. 

"(5)  Screwspikes  in  maintenance  work  can  be 
most  economically  used  where  all  rail  is  of  a  standard 
pattern,  so  that  regaging  of  track  is  not  necessary  in 
relaying  rail. 

"  ( 6 )  Slight  irregularities  of  track  when  frozen  are 
liable  to  throw  an  excessive  strain  on  screw  spikes 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  59 

where  there  are  but  a  few  mixed  with  cut  spikes. 

"(7)  The  best  results  with  the  screw  spikes  can 
be  expected  in  new  construction,  and  where  the 
screw  spikes  in  tie  renewals  predominate  over  cut 
spikes. 

''(8)  In  relaying  rail,  cut  spikes  should  never  be 
driven  in  old  screw  spike  holes,  if  the  holes  are  to  be 
*  again  used  for  screw  spikes. 

"  (9)  No  effort  should  be  made  to  draw  up  a  low 
tie  with  screw  spikes  when  the  roadbed  and  ballast 
are  frozen  solidly. 

''(10)  Screw  spikes  do  not  have  to  be  continually 
set  down,  as  do  cut  spikes,  but  should  be  gone  over 
and  set  down  properly  after  the  plates  are  seated  in 
the  tie. 

"(11)  Flat-bottom  plates  with  raised  shoulders  or 
lugs  for  the  screw  spike  head  make  but  little  noise 
and  do  not  rattle  at  all  where  ties  are  adzed  before 
treatment. 

''(12)  It  cannot  be  expected  that  the  full  life  of 
all  creosoted  softwood  ties,  such  as  loblolly  pine,  will 
be  realized  without  providing  expensive  fastenings 
from  the  start,  and  then  it  will  probably  be  necessary 
to  add  some  further  device  at  a  later  late.  Probably 
the  most  practical  and  least  expensive  device  will 
prove  to  be  one  or  the  other  of  the  lining  devices  to 
be  placed  in  worn-out  spike  holes. 

"(13)  The  use  of  screw  spikes  for  the  past  five 
years  has  not  made  it  necessary  to  increase  the  num- 
berL^of  section  men  per  mile  of  track. 

"(14)  Whether  or  not  it  will  pay  to  use  screw 
spikes  will  depend  upon  the  cost  of  ties,  their  probable 
life  and  the  amount  of  traffic." 

The  foregoing  data  were  abstracted  from  a  paper 
by  G.  J.  Ray,  Chief  Engineer,  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
&  Western  R.  R.,  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  American 
Railway  Engineering  Association  for  March,  1915. 


60  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Gaging  track.  Section  foremen  should  make  an 
effort  to  gage  all  the  track  in  their  charge  once  a  year. 
Early  in  the  winter,  and  before  general  track  work 
begins  in  the  spring  are  the  best  times  for  this  pur- 
pose, because  then,  on  northern  railroads,  there  is 
generally  less  of  other  work  to  be  done  than  during 
the  balance  of  the  year,  and  it  is  best  to  utilize  the 
period  when  track  is  frozen  up  to  do  gaging  work 
and  to  apply  tie  plates. 

To  gage  track  out  of  a  face,  the  tools  required  are : — 

2  spike  mauls, 

2  claw  bars  for  pulling  spikes, 

2  adzes  for  dressing  a  surface  for  the  rail  on  the 
ties, 

2  standard  gages,  one  for  gaging  the  track  and  one 
for  testing  the  gage  of  track  before  pulling  the  spikes, 

A  good  supply  of  track  spikes  and  wood  plugs  to  put 
in  the  old  spike  holes. 

If  there  are  any  bad  places  on  the  section,  begin 
gaging  these  first,  but  if  the  average  is  the  same 
throughout,  it  is  best  to  work  from  one  end  contin- 
uously. 

When  you  arrive  on  the  ground  to  commence  work, 
take  out  all  short  kinks  on  the  line  side,  and  spike 
the  rails  to  line,  and  have  vour  men  drive  down  all 
loose  spikes  on  that  side  of  the  track  before  bringing 
the  opposite  side  to  gage. 

The  foremen  should  take  one  gage  and  test  all  the 
track  ahead  of  the  men  and  mark  all  ties  where  spikes 
have  to  be  pulled.  Keep  only  enough  spikes  pulled 
on  the  gage  side  of  the  track  to  make  it  handy  to  ad- 
just rail  to  place  ahead  of  the  gage,  and  have  the 
track  always  ready  to  close  up  for  the  trains  to  pass. 

Have  one  of  the  men  move  the  rails  to  place  ahead 
of  the  gage  with  a  lining  bar,  and  do  not  try  to  draw 
it  over  with  the  spikes. 

Do  not  spoil  or  waste  any  of  the  old  spikes  that  are 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  61 

lit  to  be  used  a  second  time,  and  if  they  'are  oily  or 
greasy  throw  a  little  dirt  or  sand  on  the  head  of  the 
spike  when  you  tack  it  into  the  tie ;  this  will  prevent 
the  spike  maul  from  slipping  off  the  spike  when  driv- 
ing it.  Measure  the  gage  and  be  sure  that  it  is  of 
the  length  four  feet  eight  and  one-half  inches,  and  if 
it  is  an  iron  gage  and  the  end  lugs  touch  the  joint 
fastenings,  grind  or  file  them  off,  tapering  so  that 
nothing  but  the  rail  will  touch  the  gage  when  placed 
across  the  track. 

If  the  gage  on  a  section  is  not  very  bad,  a  foreman 
and  two  trackmen  will  do  an  average  of  one  sixth  of 
a  mile  per  day,  and  with  four  trackmen  a  little  more 
than  double  that  amount  of  work.  Gaging  and  spike- 
lining  a  section  of  track  well  during  the  winter,  be- 
sides improving  the  track  at  that  time,  will  enable* 
the  foreman  to  put  a  first-class  line  on  the  whole  sec- 
tion during  the  following  summer,  and  will  materially 
lighten  his  other  work. 

Loose  spikes.  A  section  foreman  should  be  par- 
ticular to  keep  all  spikes  on  his  section  driven  down 
in  the  ties,  and  tight  against  the  rails.  Some  foremen 
are  not  so  careful  in  this  respect  as  they  should  be ; 
loose  spikes  in  soft  ties,  especiall}^  where  track  is  not 
level  or  on  curves,  leave  the  rail  at  the  defective  place 
liable  to  be  turned  over  and  cause  an  accident.  You 
cannot  keep  track  in  good  line  with  loose  spikes,  and 
in  tamping  loose  ties  when  surfacing  considerable 
time  is  lost  holding  up  the  ties.  Care  should  be  taken 
not  to  spring  up  the  center  of  the  rail,  if  of  the  lighter 
sections,  and  spoil  the  surface,  thus  making  it  neces- 
sary to  go  over  the  work  a  second  time. 

Respiking  ties.  AVhenever  it  is  necessary  to  pull 
the  spikes  out  of  ties  in  the  track,  changing  rails  or 
at  other  repair  work,  and  you  find  that  the  old  spike 
holes  in  the  ties  will  do  for  spiking  the  second  time 
without  changing  the  gage  of  the  track,  do  not  use 


62  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

a  fresh  place  in  the  tie  to  drive  the  spike,  but  plug 
the  old  hole  with  a  tie  plug  and  drive  the  spike  as  it 
was  before  pulling.  Ties  soon  rot  and  break  off  un- 
der the  rail  where  spikes  have  been  driven  in  differ- 
ent places,  while  the  balance  of  the  ties  may  be  good, 
sound  timber;  this  practice  is  termed  "spike  killing 
the  ties"  and  is  one  that  should  be  avoided.  The  in- 
creased use  of  tie  plates  of  late  years  has  obviated  the 
necessity  of  gaging  track  so  frequently  on  curves. 
Some  roads  use  tie  plates  even  on  tangents  to  reduce 
the  wear  of  the  rail  on  the  ties. 

Creosoting  ties.  For  the  last  several  years  most 
railroads  have  realized  the  importance  of  creosoting 
or  treating  timber  with  oil  preservative  against  de- 
cay, since  by  so  doing  the  life  of  the  tie  is  greatly  in- 
creased, and  with  the  general  adoption  of  tie  plates, 
of  which  there  is  a  great  variety  on  the  market,  each 
style  having  its  own  particular  merit,  ties  cut  from 
soft  timber  can  be  used  to  advantage  and  substantial 
track  maintained,  a  result  that  was  not  possible  years 
ago  before  the  perfection  of  the  tie  plate.  The  creo- 
soting of  ties  at  once  suggests  the  use  of  tie  plates  on 
them  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  regaging  and  adzing 
any  more  of  them  than  is  absolutely  necessary,  since 
the  penetration  of  the  oil  into  the  timber  is  somewhat 
limited,  and  if  a  tie  is  adzed  after  treatment  the  ef- 
fectiveness of  the  preservative  is  destroyed  or  greatly 
impaired.  One  of  the  late  practices  to  overcome  this 
difficulty  is  to  have  the  ties  planed  for  the  rail-bear- 
ings before  treatment.  When  screw  spikes  are  used 
and  holes  are  bored  for  them,  they  should  be  filled 
with  creosote  oil  and  left  until  all  of  the  oil  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  timber,  which  requires  from  four  days 
to  a  week.  For  that  reason  it  is  best  that  this  part 
of  the  work  be  done  in  advance  of  the  time  when  the 
ties  are  to  be  applied.  Men  accustomed  to  the  use 
of  the  template  and  boring  can  prepare  the  ties  for 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  63 

application  at  the  places  along  the  track  where  they 
happen  to  be  distributed. 

Boring  ties  by  hand,  Mr.  C.  W.  Lane  of  the  B. 
and  O.  Railroad  has  described  the  boring  of  100,000 
treated  ties  for  use  with  screw  spikes  on  a  special 
form  of  tie  plate,  in  the  Railway  Age  Gazette,  Nov. 
20,  1914. 

"The  ties  were  bored  at  the  road's  treating  plant 
at  Green  Spring,  W.  Va.,  the  adzing  being  eliminated 
by  using  only  sawn  ties,  and  the  work  being  done  by 
small  portable  air  motors  capable  of  driving  a  %-in. 
bit  6  in.  into  the  wood. 

"In  the  tie  plant  yard  a  standard  gage  track  was 
paralleled  by  a  narrow  gage  track  40  ft.  away,  and 
the  sawn  ties  were  loaded  on  flat  cars  in  the  yard,  de- 
livered at  one  end  of  a  rude  skidway  built  between 
the  standard  and  narrow-gage  tracks,  bored  on  a  rough 
platform  at  the  narrow  gage  end  of  the  skidway,  and 
loaded  on  trams  to  be  run  into  the  cylinders  for  pre- 
servative  treatment. 

' '  The  first  skidway  was  in  the  form  of  a  rude  trestle 
work,  sloping  from  a  height  of  about  2%  ft.  above 
the  floor  of  a  standard  gage  flat  car  to  the  level  of 
the  boring  platform,  which  was  at  the  height  of  the 
arms  on  the  narrow  gage  tram  cars.  After  complet- 
ing this  skidway  its  cost  seemed  too  high  and  a  cheaper 
method  of  building  was  sought.  In  building  the  next 
skidway  a  pile  of  ties  that  stood  ready  for  treating 
was  taken  down  to  a  level  slightly  below  that  of  a 
flat  car  floor.  Rails  were  then  laid  across  this  level 
crib-work  of  ties,  and  a  boring  platform  erected  at 
the-^arrow  gage  end  at  the  level  of  arms  on  the  nar- 
row gage  tram  cars,  as  before.  This  was  a  cheaper 
form  of  construction  than  the  other  skidway;  but  for 
the  final  one  three  67-lb.  rails  were  used  at  the  height 
of  a  flat  car  floor  and  the  arms  on  the  trams,  the  rails 
being  supported  by  simple   crib-work  of  ties.     The 


GJ: 


THE  TIIACKMAN'S  HELPER 


first  or  sloping  skidwa}'  proved  to  be  the  most  effi- 
cient, since  thus  the  ties  could  be  fed  faster  to  men 
doing  the  boring. 

^' After  picking  up,  loading  on  flat  cars  and  deliv- 
ering to  the  skidway  the  sawn  ties,  the  places  where 
the  holes  were  to  be  bored  were  marked  by  using  a 
template  made  of  iron  with  holes  exactly  correspond- 


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Fig.  7.     The  Template  Used  in  Boring  Ties  for  Tie  Plates 

ing  to  the  holes  in  the  tie  plate  that  were  to  be  used. 
Two  of  these  templates,  one  for  joint  and  one  for  in- 
termediate ties,  were  constructed  according  to  the  ac- 
companying sketch.  Fig.  7. 

''The  joint  ties  required  four  holes  bored  for  each 
tie  plate,  while  the  intermediate  ties  needed  only  two 
holes  for  each  plate.  The  little  hook  on  one  end  of 
the  template  was  hooked  over  one  end  of  the  tie  and 
thus  determined  the  distance  from  the  end  at  which 
the  holes  were  to  be  bored ;  this  was  known  as  the 
'line  end'  of  the  tie. 

"Two  men  performed  the  operation  of  marking 
the  ties  for  boring.     The  template  was  first  properly 


SPIKING  AND  GAGING  Go 

placed  in  position  and  then  the  men  marked  the  places 
by  driving  a  hand  punch  through  the  holes  in  the 
template  with  a  wooden  mallet.  One  little  detail  was 
quickly  worked  out  which  added  greatly  to  the  suc- 
cess of  this  part  of  the  work.  The  punches  were  first 
made  fast  to  a  stiff  spring  which  was  in  turn  fastened 
to  the  template  and  which  kept  the  punches  out  of 
the  holes  until  struck.  Instead  of  having  to  pick  up 
and  insert  the  marking  punch  in  two  or  four  holes 
and  strike  two  or  four  blows  with  the  mallet,  accord- 
ing to  the  template  used,  one  smart  blow  on  the  spring 
marked  the  whole  set  of  holes.  This  little  change  nat- 
urally pleased  the  laborers  and  meant  more  output, 
which  is  only  another  way  of  saying  '  more  money  for 
the  men  at  a  cheaper  rate  for  the  company.' 

''The  ties  having  been  marked  were  pushed  along 
the  skidwav  to  the  men  who  did  the  boring.  The 
little  air  motors  driving  the  boring-bits  were  sus- 
pended from  a  sort  of  walking-beam  or  old  fashioned 
well-sweep,  pivoted  overhead  so  that  it  could  move 
up  or  down,  or  in  a  horizontal  direction,  as  desired. 
As  the  motors  were  too  heavy  to  handle  steadily  all 
day  they  were  counterbalanced  by  weights  placed  on 
these  walking-beams.  The  bits  with  which  the  boring 
was  done  were  fitted  with  stops  to  insure  the  holes 
being  bored  to  the  exact  depth  desired,  which  in  this 
case  was  6  in. 

"After  the  ties  were  bored  they  were  immediately 
loaded  on  trams,  stamped,  checked,  reported,  and  sent 
to  the  treating  cylinders. 

"In  any  statement  of  costs  the  particular  condi- 
tii^Hs  surrounding  each  bit  of  work  bear  directly  on 
the  unit-price,  and  the  following  prices  are  given  as 
fairly  well  suited  to  the  locality  where  this  work  was 
done,  but  with  a  full  understanding  that  cheaper  or 
possibly  higher  rates  might  fit  the  situation  in  other 
places.     It  cost  11/2  cents  per  tie  to  sort  out  and  load 


66  THE  TRACKJSIAN'S  HELPER 

ties  in  the  yard  and  i/o  cent  per  tie  to  deliver  them 
properly  piled  on  the  skidway. 

''A  gang  could  bore  600  intermediate  ties  in  10 
hours.  The  two  men  marking  and  pushing  ties  to 
the  boring-platform  and  the  two  men  doing  the  bor- 
ing received  II/2  cents  per  tie  divided  equally.  These 
four  men  earned  then  about  $2.25  per  10-hour  day 
per  man.  The  two  men  loading  trams  received  % 
cent  per  tie  or  $2.25  each  for  600  ties.  This  made 
the  total  cost  for  an  intermediate  tie  4^4  cents. 

"A  gang  could  bore  400  joint  ties  in  10  hours. 
The  rate  for  marking  and  boring  these  ties  was  2^4 
cents  per  tie,  but  the  men  loading  the  trams  received 
the  same  rate  of  %  cent  per  tie  because  they  could 
be  loading  other  trams  at  regular  yard  rates  during 
the  time  they  had  to  wait  for  the  slower  moving  joint 
ties  to  be  bored.  The  total  cost  per  joint  tie  was 
therefore  5  cents.  A  portion  of  these  costs  should  not 
be  included  in  the  bill  against  adzing  and  boring  by 
hand,  because  these  same  ties  would,  in  the  natural 
course  of  events,  have  to  be  picked  up  for  treatment, 
which  would  cost  something,  varjdng  at  the  different 
plants,  say,  approximately  1%  cents  per  tie. 


>  J 


Ill 

GENERAL   SPRING   WORK 

Overhauling  track  in  spring.  When  the  frost  is 
leaving  the  ground  in  the  spring,  track  foremen 
should  remember  to  do  all  the  little  jobs  which  have 
been  left  over  or  neglected  during  the  winter  on  ac- 
count of  frost  and  snow. 

Clean  up  the  station  grounds  and  tracks,  and  pile 
up  neatly  all  track  or  other  material  which  may  be 
scattered  about  the  premises. 

Gather  up  all  trash,  cinders,  straw  and  other  com- 
bustible material  and  waste  it  on  the  narrow  banks 
or  burn  it  up  if  more  convenient.  Particular  care 
should  be  taken  to  see  that  there  is  no  dry  grass 
around  any  timber  bridges;  if  there  is,  have  it  re- 
moved promptly  by  skimming  it  off  with  a  shovel  or 
covering  with  dirt  and  cinders.  Water  barrels  at 
bridges  should  be  examined  and  replaced  with  new 
ones  if  necessary  to  provide  proper  protection  against 
damage  to  property  from  fire. 

All  switches  and  leads  should  be  spiked  to  proper 
gage  and  line,  and  battered  rails  replaced  by  good 
ones;  guard  rails  and  frogs  should  be  examined,  and 
any  defects  in  them  remedied,  or  new  ones  ordered 
to  replace  them ;  but  this  is  something  that  must  con- 
scientiously be  done  at  all  times  regardless  of  weather 
conditions. 

Right  of  way  fences  should  be  examined  and  re- 
paired, especially  in  low  places  or  where  they  cross 
watercourses.     Loose     planks     in     wagon     crossings 

67 


68  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

should  be  taken  up  and  cleaned  underneath,  and 
ragged  or  split  ends  should  be  dressed  with  adze,  re- 
newing as  ma}^  be  necessary,  and  then  respiked  to 
place. 

The  approaches  to  all  highway  crossings  should  be 
filled  up  and  fixed,  so  that  teams  will  have  no  trouble 
in  crossing'  the  track.  All  fence  posts,  crossing  signs, 
whistling  posts  and  telegraph  poles,  should  be  put  in 
correct  position  and  tamped  solid. 

Shimmed  track  should  be  watched  and  very  thick' 
shims  should  be  replaced  by  thinner  ones  as  fast  as 
the  heaving  goes  down,  and  all  shims  should  be  re- 
moved from  the  track  as  soon  as  it  is  possible  to  spike 
the  rails  to  proper  surface. 

Soft  spots  in  the  roadbed  will  develop  at  this  pe- 
riod of  the  3^ear  and  must  be  carefully  guarded 
against  and  repaired  as  fast  as  they  develop.  If  im- 
practicable to  keep  them  in  condition  so  that  the  regu- 
lar speed  of  trains  can  be  maintained,  it  is  better  to 
resort  to  the  slow  order  than  to  permit  any  condition 
to  go  far  enough  to  risk  an  accident. 

Washouts.  Section  foremen  should  keep  a  sharp 
lookout  for  washouts  at  all  points  on  their  sections, 
since  the  time  of  the  vear  is  now  at  hand  wdien  thaw- 
ing  snow  and  rain  combine  to  increase  the  quantity 
of  water  above  the  surface  of  the  ground ;  and  as  the 
frost  goes  out  of  the  ground  but  slowdy  at  best  there 
is  always  danger  to  a  railroad  from  the  accumulation 
of  too  much  water  at  one  place.  This  may  damage 
the  track  b}^  undermining  or  washing  away  the  road- 
bed, or  by  loosening  the  earth  on  hillsides  along  the 
track,  or  it  may  cause  quantities  of  earth,  stones,  or 
trees  to  fall  or  slide  upon  the  track. 

Ditches  should  be  opened  up  and  waterwaj^s  cleared 
of  all  obstructions,  and  all  track,  trestles,  bridges  and 
culverts  should  be  examined  frequently,  every  day  if 
necessary  or,  for  that  matter,  as  many  times  during 


GENERAL  SPRING  WORK  69 

the  day  as  good  judgment  would  dictate.  Where 
there  is  likely  to  be  any  trouble  the  section  foreman 
should  remain  out  with  his  men  day  and  night,  and 
do  all  in  his  power  to  keep  the  track  safe,  always  re- 
membering that  upon  the  vigilance  of  himself  and 
men  ma}^  depend  the  lives  of  trainmen  and  passen- 
gers. 

In  case  of  storms  where  the  foreman  has  reason  to 
apprehend  danger,  and  his  section  extends  both  ways 
from  his  headquarters,  he  should  send  a  man  over  the 
short  end  of  it  with  instructions  to  reach  the  section 
limit  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to  remain  there  and 
use  the  necessary  signals  to  Hag  trains  should  he  find 
anything  dangerous  on  the  way  out.  The  foreman 
should  go  as  rapidly  as  possible  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion towards  the  other  end  of  his  section,  leaving  a 
man  a  sufficient  distance  ahead  of  the  first  break  or 
washout  to  flag  trains  following,  in  case  they  should 
get  over  the  other  end  of  the  section  safely.  The 
foreman  should  note  the  location  and  dimensions  of 
all  places  needing  repair,  but  he  should  not  stop  to 
do  any  work  until  the  end  of  the  section  is  reached, 
and  the  men  have  all  been  posted  to  remain  and  flag 
trains  for  all  the  dangerous  places  found. 

The  foreman  should  then  go  to  the  nearest  tele- 
graph office  and  make  report,  stating  fully  the  condi- 
tion of  the  track  on  his  section,  giving  location  and 
dimensions  of  all  breaks  in  roadbed  or  track,  bridge 
and  culvert  numbers,  number  of  bents  destroyed  in 
bridges,  and  any  other  information  that  would  be 
valuable  as  a  basis  from  which  to  calculate  the  amount 
of  material  or  force  necessary  to  put  the  track  in  good 
condition. 

This  will  insure  the  safety  of  trains,  and  enable 
the  train  dispatcher  to  hold  them  at  convenient  points 
until  the  track  and  bridges  are  repaired. 

After  reporting  the   condition   of  his  section  the 


70  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

foreman  can  go  to  work  repairing  small  breaks  at 
points  where  a  large  gang  of  men  could  not  work  to 
advantage,  but  the  men  who  are  flagging  at  danger- 
ous places  should  not  be  called  away  until  relieved 
by  extra  forces  sent  to  protect  and  repair  damage. 

Instances  have  occurred  where  foremen  have 
stopped  to  repair  the  first  bad  spot  found,  and  al- 
lowed trains  to  run  into  other  bad  places  on  their 
sections.  It  is  alwaj^s  the  foreman 's  duty  first  to  pro- 
tect those  dependent  upon  him  for  safety,  and  then 
to  notify  superior  officers  of  the  condition  of  his  sec- 
tion. If  all  of  the  track  on  the  section  is  safe,  send 
a  report  to  that  effect  so  that  trains  will  not  be  de- 
layed. 

Repairing"  track.  When  track  that  has  become 
rough  or  uneven  is  being  repaired,  all  low  places 
should  be  brought  up  to  surface.  Both  rails  on 
straight  track  should  be  level,  and  on  curves  the  ele- 
vation should  suit  the  degree  of  the  curve. 

Lining  old  track.  The  track  should  be  kept  in  per- 
fect line  at  all  times.  Nothing  contributes  more  to 
the  smooth  riding  of  a  train  than  a  true  line  of  rails. 
The  foreman,  when  lining  track,  should  do  as  much 
as  possible  with  his  back  to  the  sun,  because  in  that 
way  he  gets  the  best  view  of  the  rails.  It  is  also  nec- 
essary to  look  at  the  track  line  from  the  opposite 
direction,  especially  when  lining  across  a  sag,  and 
also  at  ends  of  curves.  A  common  fault  in  lining  the 
last  four  or  five  rails  on  tangents  is  to  throw  the  track 
too  far  out.  Very  few  trackmen  can  line  track  per- 
fectly by  going  over  it  once  unless  they  are  experts 
and  have  perfect  sight.  Always  stand  as  far  away 
from  the  place  to  be  lined  as  your  sight  will  allow, 
and  train  your  men  to  line  by  the  motion  of  your 
hands  w^hen  first  putting  the  rails  in  place.  By  stand- 
ing too  close  to  the  place  to  be  lined,  you  are  likely 
to  throw  a  swing  to  one  side  of  the  track.     This  is  a 


GENERAL  SPRING  WORK  71 

common  fault  with  many  foremen.  If  you  have  a 
section  which  the  previous  foreman  left  in  bad  line, 
show  your  ability  by  remedying  its  defects  in  that 
particular  every  time  you  have  an  opportunity.  If  a 
foreman  has  some  track  on  his  section  which  has  set- 
tled down  and  is  out  of  line,  where  the  ground  is  wet 
or  soft,  and  he  has  not  the  force  of  men  necessary  to 
move  it  in  the  usual  way,  the  work  of  putting  it  to 
place  can  be  done  with  a  small  gang  by  pulling  the 
spikes  out  of  two  or  three  ties  in  a  rail  length  at  a 
time,  and  using  the  lining  bars  on  top  of  the  dead  ties 
imder  the  rails,  thereby  gaining  a  solid  foundation  to 
rest  the  bars  upon  and  much  more  leverage  than 
could  be  obtained  with  the  bars  in  the  ground.  After 
the  track  has  been  lined  to  place,  the  dead  ties  can 
be  shifted  to  their  proper  positions. 

Some  of  the  instructions  herein  given  as  to  track 
lining  may  seem  unimportant  to  those  who  know  it 
all,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  there  are 
''kinks"  in  all  trades  and  as  far  as  suggestions  may 
be  made  which  would  be  useful  to  any  one  engaged 
in  this  line  of  business,  reference  will  be  made  to 
them  as  occasion  may  occur. 

Tightening  bolts.  Some  trackmen  think  that  all 
bolts  should  be  kept  as  tight  as  it  is  possible  to  make 
them.  This  is  an  error  that  any  trackman  may  fall 
into  until  he  is  convinced  to  the  contrary.  There  are 
several  kinds  of  nut  locks  for  track  bolts  in  use  on 
the  railroads  throughout  the  United  States,  the  ma- 
"Jority  of  which  are  devised  for  the  purpose  of  locking 
the  nut,  and  at  the  same  time  allowing  the  rails  to 
contract  or  expand  after  the  bolts  are  tightened  with- 
out danger  of  breaking  them.  The  section  foreman, 
and  his  men  sometimes  tighten  up  all  the  bolts  on  a 
section,  even  if  they  can  make  only  a  quarter  of  a 
turn  with  the  wrench ;  in  fact,  many  foremen  add 
pieces  to  the  ends  of  the  track  wrenches,  so  that  the 


72  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

men  ma}^  be  able  to  get  more  leverage,  and  as  a  resnlt 
of  their  labor  everything  on  a  joint  in  the  shape  of  a 
nut,  lock,  or  washer,  hii«  every  particle  of  spring  or 
elasticity  taken  out  of  it,  and  the  bolts  are  broken  by 
the  action  of  traffic  or  by  the  expansion  and  contrac- 
tion of  the  rails  due  to  changes  in  temperature.  Thus 
what  should  ordinarily  be  serviceable  material  is  ren- 
dered useless  b}^  such  treatment.  A  joint  with  either 
four  or  six  bolts,  and  with  a  spring  nut  lock  on  each 
bolt,  should  have  the  nuts  tightened  enough  to  get  the 
full  force  of  the  resistance  of  the  material  used  for  a 
washer  between  the  nut  and  the  angle  bar.  A  com- 
fortable twist  of  the  track  wrench  with  the  hand,  after 
the  nut  is  run  up  to  place  will  be  found  sufficient 
force  to  use  when  tightening  bolts.  When  bolts  are 
tightened  in  this  way  and  there  are  angle  bars  or 
patented  joints  slot-spiked  to  the  ties,  all  danger  of 
the  bolts  or  rails  being  injured  is  avoided,  and  the 
rails  can  contract  and  expand  without  track  creep- 
ing. To  prevent  trackmen  from  breaking  bolts  when 
tightening  them,  track  wrenches  should  not  be  too 
long,  and  the  use  of  pieces  of  pipe  on  the  end  to  in- 
crease the  leverage  should  be  prohibited. 

However,  with  the  large  sized  bolts  in  use  and  with 
the  design  of  heavy  joint  fastenings  lately  developed, 
the  length  of  track  wrench  has  been  increased  ac- 
cordino'lv,  and  a  standard  of  36  in.  is  not  unusual. 
It  should  not  be  understood  from  the  above  that  all 
the  trouble  experienced  is  from  keeping  bolts  too 
tight,  for  such  is  not  the  case,  but  the  foreman  should 
be  impressed  with  the  importance  of  giving  this  work 
proper  attention.  When,  for  instance,  new  rails  and 
angle  bars  are  installed,  they  are  ordinarily  covered 
with  a  light  scale  or  rust,  due  to  lying  out  in  the 
weather  for  some  time  before  being  used,  and  even  if 
the  bolts  are  applied  so  that  the  joint  is  substantially 
tight  at  fi*rst  the  scale  soon  wears  off  by  the  action  of 


Ta\l 
Hut  locK 


The  Posit 

LOCK  WAS 


Plmn  Spring 
Nut  lock 


Fig.  8.     Various    Types    of   Nut    Locks 


73 


74  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

traffic  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  go  over  and  tighten 
the  nuts  to  complete  the  seating  of  joints  up  to  the 
rail.  If  for  any  reason  this  second  tightening  is  neg- 
lected, the  joints  become  loose  and  it  is  not  a  great 
while  before  the  threads  of  the  bolts  become  damaged 
on  account  of  the  play,  with  the  result  that  the  same 
bolts  cannot  be  further  tightened  and  must  be  re- 
moved and  others  applied.  A  great  many  bolts  have 
been  damaged  in  this  way  and  money  spent  in  pur- 
chasing others,  where  a  little  labor  expended  in  the 
right  direction  would  have  avoided  it  all. 

All  sudden  changes  of  temperature  affect  the  bolts 
on  account  of  the  expansion  or  contraction  of  the 
rails.  This  is  most  noticeable  in  the  spring  and  fall 
of  the  year.  Foremen  should  not  neglect  to  tighten 
up  the  bolts  at  any  time  when  it  is  necessary.  Al- 
ways remember  that  loose  bolts  make  low  joints  and 
increase  the  labor  of  track  repair. 

Nut  locks.  There  are  a  number  of  good  nut  locks 
on  the  market  today,  each  possessing  particular  merits, 
which  permit  of  keeping  the  bolts  tightened  up  with 
a  minimum  amount  of  labor,  and  prevent  excessive 
wear  of  the  joint  fastenings.  The  nut  locks  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  8  are  in  very  general  use  and  are  well 
adapted  for  rail  joints. 

Line  on  bridges.  Section  foremen  should  be  par- 
ticular to  keep  the  rails  on  all  bridges  in  good  line,  as 
well  as  to  keep  a  good  line  and  surface  on  the  ap- 
proaches. 

Repairing  bridges.  All  repair  work  on  bridges 
should  be  done  b}^  bridge  men  or  those  in  charge  of 
such  work.  Section  foremen  should  not  attempt  to  do 
any  work  on  bridges  for  which  they  have  not  the 
proper  tools  or  the  necessary  practice.  Any  work  that 
is  necessary  in  an  emergency  should  be  done  and  a  re- 
port of  it  made  to  the  proper  authority,  as  to  anything 
further  that  may  be  considered  necessary. 


IV 

DRAINAGE 

Ditching.  In  order  to  ditch  a  cut  properly,  meas- 
urements should  be  taken  from  the  rail  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  face  of  the  cut  at  different  places  along  it. 
Ascertain  at  what  average  distance  from  the  track 
it  will  be  best  to  have  the  back  of  the  ditch.  This  is 
very  important,  because  in  the  majority  of  cuts  on  a 
railroad  the  line  of  face  is  more  or  less  irregular  and 
not  truly  parallel  to  the  track,  and  the  best  distance 
from  the  track  for  the  back  of  a  ditch  is  that  which 
will  give  a  good  ditch  without  moving  too  great  an 
amount  of  material.  After  a  foreman  has  decided 
how  wide  the  ditch  should  be,  he  should  line  it  with 
the  shovel  or  drive  stakes  along  the  back  of  it  for  his 
men  to  work  by,  otherwise  they  will  be  apt  to  make 
it  crooked.  Nothing  is  more  unsightly  than  a  crooked 
ditch,  and  it  will  fill  up  more  rapidly  than  a  straight 
one.  The  ditch  should  always  be  a  little  deeper  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  cut,  and  gradually  grow  shal- 
lower as  it  goes  up  grade.  If  you  ditch  parts  of  two 
ojE^  three  cuts  on  your  section  at  different  times,  each 
of  the  cuts  will  have  some  time  to  drain  off,  the  mate- 
rial in  the  ditches  will  be  dryer  and  in  better  condi- 
tion to  work,  and  men  can  thus  do  more  than  if  kept 
in  one  very  wet  cut  all  the  time.  Always  carry  the 
discharge  end  of  a  ditch  so  far  away  from  the  track 
that  there  will  be  no  danger  of  water  from  the  ditch 
washing   out  the   embankment  under   the   track.     A 

75 


76  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

time  of  the  year  should  be  selected  when  the  weather 
is  not  favorable  for  other  track  work. 

Form  of  ditches.  The  width  of  a  cut  and  the  slope 
of  its  face  on  each  side  of  the  track  must  always  gov- 
ern, to  a  certain  extent,  the  distance  from  the  track 
rails  to  the  back  of  a  ditch.  All  railroad  cuts  should 
be  opened  so  wide  when  the  track  is  first  laid  that 
there  will  be  room  to  make  all  ditches  a  uniform  dis- 
tance from  the  rail.  A  ditch  should  be  deep  enough 
to  thoroughly  drain  the  track,  and  the  distance  from 
the  rail  to  the  back  of  it  should  be  in  proportion  to 
the  depth  of  the  ditch,  giving  the  water  an  easy  fall 
from  the  track  and  free  passage  through  the  ditch, 
so  that  there  w^ill  be  no  danger  of  its  washing  the 
shoulder  of  the  grade,  or  undermining  the  track. 
Deep  ditches  close  to  the  track  in  a  cut  sometimes 
weaken  the  foundation  and  wash  away  the  ballast  out- 
side the  ties,  especially  where  the  ballast  is  of  sand 
or  gravel.  The  bottom  of  a  ditch  should  be  from 
eight  to  ten  feet  from  the  rails,  where  the  width  of 
grade  will  allow  it,  and  should  be  two  feet  below  the 
bottoms  of  the  ties. 

Grade  of  ditches.  If  a  cut  is  level  throughout  its 
length,  the  ditch  will  necessarily  be  deeper  at  the  ends 
than  at  the  middle.  Where  the  grade  of  a  cut  de- 
scends toward  the  ends  from  the  center  the  average 
depth  of  the  ditch  may  be  the  same  throughout  the 
cut.  Trackmen  should  always  begin  to  ditch  at  the 
lower  end  of  a  wet  cut,  and  finish  up  as  they  go. 
The  piece  ditched  every  day  will  help  to  drain  off  the 
water  behind.  The  principle  governing  this  is  that  a 
ditch  must  have  a  fall  in  the  direction  tow^ard  which 
the  water  is  to  drain. 

Cleaning  out  ditches.  Old  ties  or  other  obstruc- 
tions should  never  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  ditches 
along  the  track.  They  should  be  cleaned  out  thor- 
oughly every  fall  and  the  last  thing  before  winter 


DRAINAGE  77 

sets  in,  so  that  during  the  continuance  of  the  spring 
rains,  or  while  snow  is  melting,  the  water  can  pass 
off  freety  without  injuring  the  track. 

Protective  ditches.  A  small  ditch  made  with  a 
plow  along  the  top  of  the  side  of  a  deep  cut,  and  near 
the  edge  of  its  face,  will  carry  off  the  surface  water 
and  protect  the  side  of  the  cut  from  washing  into  the 
track  ditches  and  filling  them  up  too  rapidly. 

If  the  track  through  a  cut  has  a  uniform  grade  ad- 
vantage may  be  taken  of  it  to  turn  any  surface  water 
flowing  near  the  upper  end  down  through  the  ditch 
and  thus  keep  it  scoured  out.  There  is  no  danger  of 
injury  to  the  track  if  the  amount  of  water  flowing  to 
the  upper  end  of  the  cut  is  not  too  large. 

A  ditching  template.  A  simple  device  like  that 
shown  in  Fig.  9  is  very  handy  to  use  when  ditching. 


Fig.    9.     Ditching    Template 

It  can  be  made  as  follows :  Use  for  the  long  piece  A 
a  straight  edge  1x4  inches,  12  feet  long.  For  the 
short  cross-piece  B  use  a  piece  of  board  1x3  inches, 
four  feet  long.  On  one  end  of  the  long  piece  fix  a 
piece  of  sheet  iron,  C,  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  long, 
double  it,  and  bolt  the  ends  of  it  through  the  wood, 
leaving  a  space  through  which  the  short  piece,  B,  can 
be  passed  freely.  A  hole  should  be  bored  through 
the  sheet  iron,  so  that  a  set  screw  or  a  bolt  can  be 
used  to  secure  the  short  piece  at  any  distance  from 
either  end  of  it.  The  cross  piece,  B,  of  the  ditching 
rule  should  be  set  so  that  the  back  of  it  will  be  at  the 
proper  angle  for  the  back  of  the  ditch,  and  upon  one 
side  of  it  should  be  marked  the  distances  by  which  to 


78  THE  TRACKIVIAN'S  HELPER 

regulate  the  depth  of  the  ditch.  When  in  operation, 
one  end  of  this  ditching  rule,  d,  should  rest  upon  the 
nearest  track  rail,  and  at  the  other  end  the  material 
should  be  removed  from  the  face  of  the  cut,  until  the 
cross  piece,  B,  rests  in  proper  position  to  shape  the 
ditch.  Then,  by  trying  the  spirit  level  on  top  of  the 
longer  piece,  and  adjusting  the  cross  piece  to  the  re- 
quired depth,  the  bottom  level  of  the  ditch  can  be 
carried  uniformly  throughout  the  length  of  the  cut, 
if  the  track  is  in  true  surface,  without  any  change  in 
the  rule.  The  template  should  be  fitted  to  place  at 
distances  of  a  rail  length  or  less,  and  the  men  will 
have  a  guide  to  work  by,  and  can  cut  the  ditch  cor- 
rectly without  any  additional  labor.  A  marker  can 
be  put  on  the  long  piece,  which  will  show  where  the 
ditch  slope  commences  outside  the  ends  of  the  track 
ties.  If  it  be  desirable  to  lower  the  ditch,  say  twelve 
inches  in  as  many  rail  lengths,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  let  the  cross  piece,  B,  down  one  inch  every  thirty 
or  thirty-three  feet,  at  the  same  time  keeping  the 
long  piece  always  level  on  the  top.  In  like  manner, 
by  shortening  up  the  cross  piece  the  ditch  bottom  can 
be  gradually  raised  or  made  more  shallow.  When 
constructing  ditches  in  accordance  with  the  standards 
prescribed  by  the  various  railroads,  of  course  the  fig- 
ures as  taken  from  such  standards  should  be  used  in 
setting  the  template  to  shape  the  ditch.  E  represents 
the  difference  in  elevation  between  top  of  rail  and 
sub-grade. 

Channels  for  conveying  the  water  away  from  the 
track  should  be  sufficiently  large  to  perform  the  duty 
required  of  them  during  a  freshet  as  well  as  when 
only  an  ordinary  amount  of  water  passes  through. 
At  all  marshy  or  low  places  where  water  might  remain 
standing  alongside  of  the  track  enough  openings 
should  be  made  to  insure  a  solid  dry  roadway.  The 
embankment  should  also  be  rip-rapped  along  its  sides 


DRAINAGE  79 

if  there  is  any  possibility  of  strong  winds  or  rapid 
streams  forcing  the  water  against  it  and  washing  the 
material  away. 

Where  musk  rats  are  plentiful  and  cause  damage 
to  the  track  by  burrowing  under  it,  a  heavy  coating 
of  cinders  and  slag  along  the  sides  of  the  embank- 
ment is  a  most  effectual  protection  against  their  dep- 
redations. The  cinders  form  an  alkali  in  the  water 
that  tastes  bad,  besides  which  they  are  too  sharp  for 
the  animals  to  burrow  through,  forming  thus  an  ad- 
mirable remedy  against  their  ravages. 

In  deep,  wet  cuts  where  the  material  has  a  tend- 
ency to  slide,  the  roadbed  should  be  widened  out  much 
more  than  at  any  other  point,  and  the  face  of  the  side 
of  the  cut  should  be  made  with  a  very  gradual  in- 
cline from  the  top  of  the  cut  to  the  ditch.  If  it  will 
grow  some  grass,  all  the  better. 

The  work  of  widening  cuts  and  roadbeds  can  be 
done  at  less  cost  and  to  better  advantage  before  the 
track  is  laid  than  afterwards. 

The  bottoms  of  ditches  that  run  alongside  the  track 
through  a  cut  should  be  carried  not  less  than  ten  feet 
from  the  rails  on  each  side,  and  as  far  below  the  bot- 
toms of  the  track  ties  as  it  is  possible  to  have  them. 
They  should  retain  a  nicely  proportioned  incline  from 
the  end  of  the  ties  to  the  ditch.  Open  ditches  or  til- 
ing which  are  too  close  to  the  track,  or  not  deep 
enough  below  the  track  ties,  are  only  a  makeshift 
and  a  hindrance  to  maintaining  a  good,  dry  track. 
Coarse  stone  makes  a  good  foundation  in  a  wet  cut, 
if  laid  beneath  the  ballast  in  which  the  ties  are  im- 
bedded, but  can  be  dispensed  with  where  the  track  can 
be  raised  above  the  mud  without  spoiling  the  surface 
or  grade  standard.  In  fact,  this  latter  is  the  most 
economical  method  (after  a  track  has  been  laid)  of 
draining  a  track  and  making  a  good  ditch  at  the 
same  time.     Briefly  stated,  to  drain  the  track  in  a 


80  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

cut,  the  same  conditions  must  exist,  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible, as  where  the  track  is  laid  in  ballast  on  a  good, 
solid  fill  or  embankment,  several  feet  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground. 

The  incline  of  the  sides  of  the  embankment  should 
be  a  natural  slope,  with  no  abrupt  angles.  No  earth 
embankment  can  be  prevented  from  washing  without 
artificial  means  where  the  incline  is  so  steep  that  vege- 
tation will  not  grow  upon  it. 

Pipe  culverts.  Cast  iron  pipe  from  12  in.  to  48 
in.  in  diameter  provides  a  splendid  means  of  passing 
the  water  from  one  side  of  the  roadbed  to  the  other. 
Concrete  pipe  is  replacing  this  to  some  extent  now. 

Where  the  conditions  are  favorable  stone  or  con- 
crete arches  should  be  installed  with  good,  strong, 
side  walls,  a  paved  floor  and  wing  walls  at  both  sides 
of  the  embankment,  to  take  the  place,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, of  all  small  wooden  bridges. 

Grading^  cuts.  "Wet,  soft  cuts  on  railroads  are  a 
great  annoyance,  and  very  expensive  for  the  com- 
panies that  are  troubled  with  them.  They  often  ne- 
cessitate increasing  the  section  force  or  organizing 
ditching  gangs,  and  require  extra  quantities  of  bal- 
last. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  the  track  in  wet  cuts  is 
rough ;  in  winter  the  track  in  bad  cuts  heaves  up  and 
requires  considerable  labor  and  expense  to  keep  it 
safe,  and  owing  to  the  frequent  spiking  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  material  in  which  they  are  laid  the  ties 
soon  decay  and  have  to  be  renewed.  In  new  railroad 
construction  this  can  often  be  remedied  by  widening 
the  roadbed  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  the  cut,  or 
in  conformity  with  the  nature  of  the  material  through 
which  the  cut  is  made  instead  of  following  out  the 
ironclad  rule  which  makes  the  width  of  the  roadbed 
the  same  in  all  cuts.  A  practical  and  experienced 
man  should  have  charge  of  the  grading  work  on  a 


DRAINAGE  81 

new  road,  with  authority  to  widen  the  roadbed,  or 
ease  the  side  slopes  of  any  cut,  in  a  manner  that  will 
protect  the  track  from  the  effects  of  heavy  rains  or 
a  springy  bottom. 

Surface  ditches  should  be  put  along  the  tops  of  all 
cuts  to  run  off  the  water  at  the  ends,  and  to  prevent 
it  coming  in  on  the  track  over  the  faces  of  the  cuts. 

Drainage  of  high  fills.  Mr.  Earl  Stimson,  Main- 
tenance of  Way  Engineer  on  the  B.  &  O.  R.  R.,  has 
described  in  Ry.  Eng.  &  M.  of  W.  the  drainage  of  two 
fills  which  gave  a  good  deal  of  trouble  on  account  of 
settling,  on  the  Baltimore  Division  of  that  road, 
known  as  the  Orangeville  Fill  and  the  first  fill  east 
of  Eldridge. 

The  description  is  as  follows: 

''Before  the  work  of  drainage  was  commenced,  it 
was  thought  that  the  sub-grade  had  settled  under  tlie 
track,  forming  water  pockets.  The  fills  being  of  im- 
pervious clay,  the  water  could  not  drain  off,  and  grad- 
ually softened  the  material,  causing  the  fills  to  settle 
slowly,  the  material  working  out  at  the  base. 

' '  However,  when  the  drainage  work  was  commenced 
it  was  found  that  this  condition  did  not  exist,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  cross  section  which  represents  typical 
conditions  in  both  places.  The  Orangeville  fill  is 
4,400  feet  long,  but  only  200  feet  have  given  any 
trouble  on  account  of  slippage.  At  this  point  the 
fill  is  25  feet  high  with  the  slip  all  on  the  westbound 
side.  The  eastbound  track  requires  no  more  atten- 
jtion  than  other  points  with  a  fair  sub-grade. 

''The  original  ground  surface  is  of  good  support- 
ing material  so  that  the  settlement  could  not  be  at- 
tributed to  a  poor  foundation.  The  first  section  cut 
in  the  fill  was  cut  down  to  the  original  ground  to  de- 
velop any  water  pockets  if  they  existed.  This  section 
was  not,  however,  cut  through  the  entire  width  of 
the  fill,  as  the  material  under  the  eastbound  track 


82 


THE  TRACKjVIAN'S  HELPER 


was  foiind  dry  and  in  good  stable  condition.  From 
time  to  time,  cinders  have  been  unloaded  at  this  point 
and  used  to  bring  the  fill  up  to  normal  sub-grade  ele- 
vation and  fill  out  the  shoulder.  The  first  section  cut 
showed  the  cinder  extending  to  a  depth  of  12  feet 
below  the  top  of  rail.  Underlying  the  cinder  was  a 
layer  of  slippery  saturated  clay,  about  a  foot  in  thick- 
ness, upon  which  the  cinder  moved  toward  the  toe 


Cross 
Lkairrs 


Originai  around 

.Section  Looking  East 
li^pical  Crvss  Section     Oranqeville    nil 


Cinders 


0$^^^. 

W//'!^"//''///'' 


or  ■ 


drains 


53furjf€<f 


Onginil   Orvund 

3€cfhn  look/no  East: 
Tijpical   Cross   Section   Elkridge  nil. 

Fig.  10.     Cross  Sections   of   Two   High   Fills  on   the 

B.   &   0.   R.    R. 

of  the  fill.  Although  it  was  not  marked,  there  was 
evidentlv  some  movement  of  this  clav  which  would 
account  for  the  depth  of  the  cinder  under  the  track. 
"It  is  probable  that  this  condition  is  the  result  of 
water  pockets.  The  pumping  action  of  passing 
trains  has  worked  the  shoulder  of  the  fill  down  also, 
lea\4ng  no  defined  pocket  and  forming  the  section 


DRAINAGE  83 

shown.  Under  the  layer  of  saturated  clay,  the  mate- 
rial rapidly  became  clrj^er  and  assumed  normal  con- 
ditions. 

"Fi\e  cross  drains  were  constructed  at  points  where 
the  settlement  was  most  marked.  The  first  section 
cut  having  developed  the  fact  that  there  was  no  water 
pocket  in  the  fill,  the  subsequent  cross  drains  were  cut 
only  to  a  depth  sufficient  to  reach  solid  material  below 
the  laj^er  of  saturated  clay.  No  tile  was  used,  the 
trenches  being  back  filled  with  cinder. 

''The  fill  east  of  Eldridge  is  1,100  feet  long  with 
a  maximum  height  of  about  30  feet.  In  this  case  the 
settlement  was  on  the  eastbound  track  and  for  prac- 
ticallv  the  entire  lens^th  of  the  fill.  Conditions  were 
found  to  exist  here  as  at  Orangeville,  except  that  there 
was  more  water,  and  as  at  Orangeville,  no  water  pock- 
ets were  found.  Eighteen  cross  drains  were  con- 
structed at  intervals  of  about  50  feet.  The  excavat- 
ing was  cut  through  a  wet  material,  and  back  filled 
with  stone  and  cinder  without  tile.  The  cross  sec- 
tions illustrate  the  conditions  as  they  existed  and  the 
cross  drains  as  constructed. 

"The  cost  of  the  work  at  Orano'eville  was: 


's?' 


Labor     $    711.55 

Material    357.37 

Total     $r,'068.92 


( i 


The  unit  cost  of  $213.75  per  cross  drain  is  high, 
-owing  to  the  amount  spent  on  the  first  drain,  which 
was  in  the  nature  of  an  exploration. 
"The  cost  of  the  work  at  Eldridge  was: 

Labor     $    486.52 

Material    550.00 

Total    $1,036.52 


84  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

''The  unit  cost  of  $57.38  per  drain  is  probably  a 
better  average  on  which  to  base  future  estimates  for 
work  of  this  character. 

''During  the  progress  of  the  work,  the  track  was 
supported  on  twelve  by  twelve  inch  timbers,  placed 
under  the  ties,  the  excavation  being  made  four  feet 
wide,  closely  sheeted  and  cross  braced.  No  piling 
was  used  to  support  the  tracks. 

"When  it  was  found  that  water  pockets  did  not 
exist,  it  was  thought  that  the  cross  drains  would  ac- 
complish little,  but  contrary  to  expectations,  the  re- 
sults obtained  have  been  most  satisfactory,  the  bene- 
ficial effects  being  noticeable  almost  immediately  upon 
the  completion  of  the  work,  and  the  stability  of  the 
fills  increasing  rapidly  as  they  dried  out. 

"Results:  A  recent  inspection  has  been  made  at 
Orangeville  and  Eldridge.  The  embankment  for  the 
last  track  built  has  slid  down  the  slope  of  the  original 
embankment  so  far  that  not  much  of  the  original 
material  is  left.  The  second  track  is  now  supported 
mostly  by  cinders.  In  time  of  dry  weather  this  holds 
itself  in  fair  equilibrium,  but  in  wet  weather  the  water 
running  down  the  slope  of  the  old  embankment  car- 
ries the  new  with  it.  The  embankment  seems  to  have 
thoroughly  dried  out  at  the  point  where  the  two 
ditches  were  dug  to  the  bottom.  After  the  first  deep 
trenches  were  dug  it  was  decided  to  dig  only  shallow 
ditches  on  the  top  of  the  embankment,  digging  them 
down  as  far  as  any  moisture  was  found.  These,  of 
course,  under  the  conditions,  effectually  drained  the 
water  which  was  standing  upon  the  top  of  the  old 
embankment,  but  did  not  help  the  track  upon  the  new 
embankment. 

"At  the  point  where  the  deep  excavations  were 
made,  the  slip  seems  to  have  been  cured,  but  where 
the  shallow  ones  were  dug,  conditions  are  practically 
as  bad  as  before.     The  ballast  at  the  former  point  is 


DRAINAGE  85 

still  in  line  and  the  track  is  standing  up  dry  and 
solid,  but  in  all  other  points  it  has  settled  badly  and 
destroyed  the  line  of  the  ballast  leaving  the  one  point 
where  the  deep  excavation  was  made  higher  than  the 
adjoining  track. 

''The  conditions  at  these  two  points  would  indicate 
that  the  proper  course  to  take  to  fully  overcome  the 
difficulties  would  be  to  dig  deep  excavations  to  the 
bottom  of  the  fill  and  at  intervals  of  about  50  feet 
throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  slip  and  fill  with 
coarse  rock  and  cinder." 


SUMMER    TRACK    WORK 

Renewal  of  ties.  The  month  of  May  in  northern 
climates  is  the  season  when  the  work  of  general  track 
repair  should  be  pushed  steadily.  Track  is  becoming 
dry  and  any  track  that  has  heaved  during  the  winter 
is  generally  settled  back  to  its  old  bed.  The  time  for 
this  varies  with  the  location  as  to  latitude  and  general 
climatic  conditions.  In  the  North  Atlantic  States  the 
frost  ordinarily  leaves  the  ground  in  the  latter  part 
of  March  or  early  April  and  then  the  danger  of  track 
spreading  is  very  great  and  should  be  carefully 
guarded  against.  If  there  are  any  poor  ties  in  track 
they  will  show  up  at  this  time,  and  any  weak  spots 
that  develop  on  this  account  should  be  attended  to 
at  once. 

As  soon  as  the  worst  parts  of  the  section  have  been 
attended  to  in  this  regard,  the  foreman  should  go 
over  and  correct  the  line  and  general  surface,  which 
should  engage  his  attention  practically  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  month  of  April  so  that  by  the  first 
of  May  he  can  begin  at  one  end  of  his  section  the 
work  of  renewing  those  ties  which  are  scheduled  for 
renewal  during  the  season.  This  work  should  be 
prosecuted  continuously  and  should  be  interrupted 
only  to  correct  line  and  surface  as  necessary.  The 
tie  renewals  should  have  preference  at  this  time,  for 
then  the  ballast,  if  cinders  or  gravel,  has  not  become 
hard  or  baked,  as  it  will  be  in  July  and  August.  In 
addition  to  making  better  progress  with  the  work  on 

86 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK  87 

account  of  this  condition,  the  weather  is  usually  pleas- 
ant, full  efficiency  can  be  secured  from  labor,  and 
every  tie  put  in  at  this  time  in  ballast  of  whatever 
kind  will  have  a  good  chance  to  become  solid  by  the 
fall  of  the  year.  In  other  words,  the  track  is  now 
undergoing"  such  repairs  as  may  be  necessary  to  put 
it  in  proper  condition  for  the  coming  winter.  The 
more  those  in  charge  of  the  work  will  consider  the 
fact  that  winter  is  surely  coming,  the  better  the  track 
will  be. 

Species  of  track  ties.  The  species  of  wood  in  rail- 
road ties  are  of  great  variety,  ranging  from  cedar 
and  other  soft  woods  to  lignum  vitae.  The  majority 
are,  however,  of  cedar,  cypress,  hemlock,  pine,  chest- 
nut and  oak,  and  are  used  according  to  the  character 
of  the  country  through  which  the  railroad  runs. 

Yellow  pine  ties  are  now  secured  in  the  South  and 
brought  in  large  numbers  by  rail  and  boat  to  help 
out  the  deficiency  of  other  classes  of  timber  in  the 
states  farther  north.  Cedar  ties  give  a  very  long 
life  in  the  track,  as  do  chestnut,  but  if  used  without 
tie  plates  are  cut  very  fast  by  the  base  of  the  rail. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  chestnut  ties  in  the  track 
that  have  been  there  for  sixteen  years,  and  cedar  ties 
that  have  given  twenty  years '  service ;  however,  cedar 
and  other  very  soft  wood  ties  cannot  be  trusted  on 
curves  without  tie  plates  to  resist  the  tendency  of  the 
rails  to  spread.  White  oak  ties  are  the  best  and  make 
the  most  substantial  track,  their  average  life  being 
from  twelve  to  fourteen  years.  Red  oak  ties  last 
about  four  years  on  the  ordinary  railroad,  but  on 
street  railways,  where  covered  up  and  not  exposed, 
they  are  quite  suitable  and  give  long  service. 

The  usual  size  of  ties  for  main  track  is  seven  inches 
thick,  nine  inches  wide  and  eight  feet  six  inches  long 
(7"  x9'' x8' 6")  ;  for  side  tracks  they  are  six  inches 
thick,  eight  inches  wide,  and  eight  feet  long  (6"x8'' 


88  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

x8'0").  The  latter  class  are  also  adapted  for  use 
on  all  main  tracks  with  light  traffic  and  are  often 
used  with  great  success  under  heavy  traffic.  In  size 
they  vary  according  to  the  specifications  of  the  par- 
ticular company  for  which  they  are  being  cut. 

Timber  cross-ties  can  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
and  these  in  turn  can  be  subdivided  as  follows : 


I.     Hewn. 


(a)  Quarter  tie. 

(b)  Slab  tie. 

(c)  Half  tie. 

(d)  Uneven  tie. 

(e)  Pole  tie. 

II.     Sawn. 

(a)  Quarter  tie. 

(b)  Slab  tie. 

(c)  Half  tie. 

(d)  Pole  tie. 

Fig.  11  shows,  at  upper  part,  (1)  :  A  quarter  tie, 
from  a  tree  quartered  into  4  ties,  having  a  little  heart, 
which,  if  placed  in  track  with  heart  up,  will  check 
quickly  and  if  placed  with  heart  down,  as  shown  at 
(1-a),  the  heart  is  likely  to  be  split  away  from  the 
rest  of  the  tie  when  the  spikes  are  driven  into  it. 
(2)  :  A  slab  tie,  from  a  tree  halved  into  two  ties, 
and  the  same  results  occur  as  from  quarter  ties;  both 
(1)  and  (2)  w^hen  placed  in  the  track,  heart  down, 
give  sapwood  as  support  for  the  rail,  which  will  be 
quickly  cut  into.  (3)  :  A  half  tie,  which  requires 
considerable  care  in  tamping  or  it  will  become  canted. 
(4)  An  unevenly  hewn  tie  with  a  narrow  face  on  one 
side,  which,  if  placed  up,  will  very  soon  be  cut  into 
by  the  rail  base,  as  shown  at   (4-a).     (5)   and   (6)  : 

Pole  ties,"  so-called,  which  are  the  best  for  use  in 


<  I 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK 


89 


the  track,  owing  to  the  heart  being  at  the  center,  with 
sapwood  on  the  outer  corners  only.  These,  when 
placed  in  track,  will  give  longer  life  and  allow  cor- 
rect spiking  for  gage  and  to  prevent  creeping,  and 

I  2  3         4  5  6 


t^ 


Quarter     Slab 
Tie         Tie 


Half 


Uneven     Pole 
Hewn  Tie    Tie* 


Pole 
Tie 


r 

r  t 

"1 

i 

I 

1 

i 


l-a       2-a        3-a      ^-a       5-a       6-a 
Tie  Sections  of  Various  Kinds- 

f^     ft^     \fhM     v^fn    rtym 


3 


^ 


While  Oak    Cedar   Chestnut  Chestnut    Chestnut 
Typical  Ties  in  Plan  and  Section. 

Fig.  11.     Tie    Sections    of    Various    Kinds. and    Typical    Ties 
^-^  in   Plan   and    Section 

will  not  require  so  soon  the  use  of  plates  on  tangents, 
whereas  the  other  ties  should  have  tie  plates,  if  sap 
is  placed  up,  to  prevent  their  being  cut  into. 

In  the  lower  part  of  Fig.  11  is  shown,  first,  a  white 


90  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

oak  tie,  a  cedar,  a  chestnut,  a  narrow-faced  chestnut 
and  a  w'ide  faced  chestnut  tie.  It  will  be  noticed 
from  the  shading,  which  indicates  the  amount  of  wear 
from  the  base  of  the  rail,  that  the  white  oak  tie  is 
cut  but  little,  the  cedar  and  narrow-faced  chestnut  the 
most.  If  ties  thus  placed  were  of  different  wood  or 
of  different  face  this  would  occasion  an  uneven  bear- 
ing for  the  rail  when  the  wheels  are  upon  it. 

There  is  also  an  objection  to  narrow  and  wide  faced 
ties  being  placed  near  each  other,  especially  in  track 
under  an  overhead  bridge,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
frost  will  hang  under  the  wide-faced  ties  and  come 
out  quickly  under  the  narrow-faced  ones,  making  un- 
even riding  track  in  the  spring.  Above  the  sections 
in  the  lower  part  of  Fig.  11  is  shown  a  rail  spiked  to 
the  ties  showing  the  tie  face. 

In  the  tamping  of  track,  a  hewn  tie  can  be  worked 
more  rapidly  to  a  good  bed  than  a  sawn  tie.  Other 
things  being  equal,  a  railroad  which  is  not  compelled 
to  renew  its  track  ties  for  nine  or  ten  years  after  they 
are  laid,  has  an  immense  advantage  over  a  road  that 
must  renew  its  ties  once  in  five  years.  The  latter 
road  must  figure  into  its  expense  account  almost 
double  the  cost  for  material,  besides  the  additional 
track  labor  necessar^^  to  do  the  work,  and  during  the 
interval  it  cannot  have  as  good  a  track  as  the  former. 
Ties  sawn  square  will  rot  sooner  and  break  more  eas- 
ily than  he^\Ti  ties,  and  are  generally  too  small  to 
give  a  good  bearing  surface.  Pole  ties,  with  a  face 
on  two  sides,  made  by  sawing  slabs  from  them,  are 
generally  good  and  preferable  to  quarter  ties  or  those 
split  out  of  very  large  logs,  because  the  wood  of  a 
big  tree  is  more  brittle  than  that  of  the  younger 
growth.  A  well  hewn  pole  tie,  with  a  face  on  two 
sides,  eight  or  ten  inches  -^dde,  is  preferable  to  all 
others  for  track  purposes. 

Dimensions  of  ties.     The  following  table  shows  the 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK 


91 


sizes  of  ties  specified  for  a  first  class  line,  the  eight 
and  a  half  foot  ties  being  used  on  main  tracks  and 
the  eight  foot  ones  in  sidings  and  yards,  but  in  some 
cases  the  eight  foot  ones  are  used  on  main  track  of 
branch  lines  if  the  traffic  is  not  so  heavy  as  to  war- 
rant the  use  of  the  larger  class. 


Tie  sizes. 

Face 

Length 

Kind 

Thickness 

First  Class 

Second  Class 

81/2  feet 

Pole 

ties 

7 

inches 

7  inches 

6  inches 

81/2      " 

Split 

7 

9       " 

7      " 

81/2      " 

Saw 

7 

9       " 

8       « 

8 

Pole 

6 

7       " 

6       " 

8 

Split 

6 

8       " 

7      « 

8 

Saw- 

6 

8       " 

7      " 

Face  must  not  be  less  than  specified.  Variations 
in  thickness  of  one-quarter  inch  under  or  over 
will  be  permitted  and,  in  length,  one  inch  under  or 
over. 

The  life  of  a  track  tie  is  not  altogether  dependent 
upon  the  kind  or  quality  of  timber  used.  The  same 
kind  of  tie  will  last  longer  in  the  North  where  the 
ground  is  frozen  all  winter,  than  in  the  South,  where 
the  process  of  decay  goes  on  uninterruptedly;  there 
is  also  a  marked  difference  in  the  effect  on  ties  of  an 
extremely  wet  or  dry  climate  and  the  amount  of  traf- 
fic over  them.  If  the  length  of  ties  equalled  twice 
the  gage  of  a  track,  they  would  give  much  more  sup- 
port to  the  rail.  As  it  is,  the  ties  receive  their  main 
support  from  the  inside  and  only  a  proportion  from 
the  outside  ends.  This  condition  has  a  tendency  to 
develop  swings  and  rough  track.  If  the  rail  received 
as  much  support  from  the  outside  as  from  the  inside 
and  the  support  provided  by  the  ballast  were  uni- 
form, the  ends  of  the  ties  would  not  be  so  likely  to 
spring  up  and  down  under  a  passing  train  and  there 
would  consequently  be  no  ^ace  between  the  ends  of 
the  ties  and  the  ballast  beneath  for  water  to  get  into, 


92  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

but  the  ties  would  rest  solidly  on  their  foundation 
from  end  to  end. 

Distribution  of  new  ties.  In  renewing  ties  by  the 
"spotting  method"  as  is  the  general  practice  and  not 
"out  of  face,"  each  mile  of  track  will  require  ap- 
proximately the  same  number  of  ties  each  year,  but 
of  course  if  track  has  recently  been  ballasted  or  relaid 
with  new  rail  and  the  tie  renewals  have  been  gener- 
ous where  the  new  rail  was  laid  only  light  renewals 
will  be  necessary  for  the  next  few  years.  Ties  to  be 
used  during  the  season  may  come  for  distribution  the 
winter  before  but  there  is  no  difficulty  in  approximat- 
ing the  number  required  in  each  mile  of  track,  and 
arrangements  should  be  made  to  distribute  them  ac- 
cordingly, that  they  maj-  be  available  for  use  without 
rehandling.  If  there  are  enough  cars  of  ties  to  make 
a  day's  work  for  a  work  train,  all  the  better,  otherwise 
a  few  cars  of  ties  and  some  other  work  may  go  to  make 
up  a  train.  In  any  event,  it  is  economical  to  get  the 
ties  to  the  point  where  they  are  wanted  in  the  first 
place.  If  there  are  not  ties  enough  on  hand  to  war- 
rant the  ordering  out  of  a  work  train,  the  service  of 
a  way  freight  can  usually  be  secured  to  release  cars 
promptly. 

When  new  ties  are  unloaded  from  cars  the  foreman 
should  see  that  any  of  them  that  are  too  close  to  the 
track  are  removed  to  a  safe  distance  immediately 
after  the  passage  of  the  unloading  train. 

Piling  ties.  The  usual  practice  is  to  put  fifty  ties 
in  a  pile.  Some  roads  place  them  in  square  piles 
while  others  pile  them  in  pyramids  or  A-shaped  piles 
at  right  angles  to  the  track.  See  Fig.  12  for  Correct 
and  Wrong  Methods  of  Piling  Ties,  indicating 
P.  R.  R.  practice,  as  given  in  the  Ry.  Age  Gazette, 
Feb.  19,  1915. 

Tie  inspection.  Large  railroads  usually  have  a  sys- 
tem of  markings  for  the  foreman  the  ties  which  are 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK 


93 


to  be  renewed  on  his  section  during  the  season.  This 
is  done  early  in  the  spring  or  as  soon  as  the  frost  is 
out  of  the  ties  by  the  tie  inspector,  who  goes  over 
every  mile  of  track  and  marks  with  white  paint  the 
rail  over  the  ties  that  it  is  considered  necessary  to 
renew.  Ties  that  are  questionable  are  tested  with  a 
pick  to  ascertain  the  extent  to  which  they  are  decayed 
and  a  record  is  kept  of  the  number  to  be  renewed  in 
each  mile  or  quarter  mile,  showing  how  many  are  on 
curves   and   how   many   on   tangent.     The   record   is 


Appro\/ed  Methods. 


Improper  Methods. 


Fig.  12. 


Methods  of  Piling  Ties 


kept  on  blanks  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  know- 
ing the  total  number  of  ties  in  track  in  each  mile  the 
percentage  of  ties  renewed  each  year  is  readily  as- 
certained. If  the  foreman  makes  any  change  in  the 
number  renewed  from  those  spotted  he  makes  a  re- 
'port  giving  the  reason  therefor.  Also,  the  number 
of  new  ties  on  hand  in  each  mile  available  for  use 
is  tabulated  and  from  this  information  the  supervisor 
or  roadmaster  knows  how  many  additional  ties 
must  be  distributed  to  complete  the  renewals.  The 
tie  inspection  work  is  usually  delegated  to  an  experi- 


94  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

enced  foreman  whose  judgment  is  good  in  this  line, 
and  necessary  assistance  is  furnished  him  while  on 
this  work  temporarily,  but  some  roads  insist  on  the 
supervisor  doing  it  personally  so  that  he  will  be  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  tie  conditions  on  his  sub- 
division. When  practicable  it  is  best  to  have  the  sec- 
Jon  foreman  along,  too. 

Renewing  ties.  "When  putting  ties  under  the 
track  the  foreman  should  never  allow  the  men  to  dig 
out  any  more  than  is  necessary  to  allow  the  tie  to 
go  under  easily.  The  old  bed  should  not  be  disturbed 
if  the  new  tie  will  fit.  A  good  method  for  putting  in 
ties  where  two  together  are  to  be  renewed  is  to  dig 
out  between  the  two  and  on  each  side  of  the  track,  a 
little  deeper  than  the  bed  of  the  ties,  remove  the  spikes 
from  the  old  ties,  knock  the  old  ties  into  the  hole,  and 
pull  out.  Pull  the  new  tie  into  the  same  hole  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  track,  if  it  is  of  about  the 
right  size,  and  let  a  man  on  each  side  of  the  track 
slide  the  tie  into  its  bed,  keeping  it  close  up  to  the 
rail  until  in  its  place. 

Tie  gage.  New  ties  should  always  be  spaced 
evenly;  they  should  be  square  across  the  track  and 
laid  so  that  the  center  of  the  tie  will  coincide  with 
the  center  of  the  track ;  this  will  leave  the  ends  so  that 
they  will  not  line  up  perfectly  one  with  the  other  on 
account  of  the  slight  variation  in  length  of  ties,  but 
this  is  hardly  enough  to  be  noticeable  and  there  is 
considerable  question  as  to  which  looks  better  after 
all,  a  track  with  ties  evenlv  lined  at  one  end  and 
ragged  on  the  other  or  where  the  variation  is  the  same 
in  the  line  of  both  ends.  It  is  best  to  have  wheel 
loads  supported  equally  at  the  two  rails  and  this  is 
best  accomplished  by  having  the  ties  centered.  Also, 
where,  for  instance,  8%  ft.  ties  are  adopted  for  re- 
newal on  a  line  already  equipped  w4th  8  ft.  ties,  a 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK 


95 


presentable   appearance   still   obtains   if   all   ties   are 
uniform  with  the  center  line  of  track. 

In  order  to  get  the  tie  into  this  position  without 
any  extra  measuring',  a  tie  gage  or  stick  say  V  x2" 
should  be  provided  which  has  marked  upon  it  the 
length  of  the  tie  being  used  and  the  locations  of  the 
two  rails ;  it  is  then  only  necessary  to  lay  the  gage  on 

0 

■      Al' 


X 


4 


m 


I 


a'-o" 


d'-  6" 


Fig.  13. 


Tie   Gage,  Made  of   l"x4"   Board 


the  tie  to  be  installed  and  mark  with  chalk  the  loca- 
tion of  the  base  of  each  rail  and  see  that  the  marks 
so  made  come  to  the  rails  when  the  tie  is  being  spiked. 
The  tie  gage  saves  an  endless  amount  of  work  both 
^in  renewals  and  especially  in  construction  of  new 
tracks  where  a  man  marks  the  position  of  the  rails 
as  fast  as  the  ties  are  distributed  out  ahead,  thus 
greatly  helping  the  spikers. 


96  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Selecting  joint  ties.  Under  joints  wliere  angle 
bars  are  used,  put  in  two  well-hewn  ties  of  about 
equal  size,  and  have  each  tie  come  well  under  the 
angle  bars,  as  this  is  the  first  consideration.  The 
other  ties  are  spaced  to  suit  the  joint  ties. 

The  number  of  ties  used  per  rail  length  depends 
somewhat  on  the  size  of  the  ties,  whether  the  general 
run  of  them  is  large  or  not.  A  good  way  to  roughly 
space  ties  is  to  have  them  just  far  enough  apart  to 
enable  a  track  shovel  to  be  passed  between  them  when 
held  sideways.  This  will  give  about  the  proper  space 
for  tamping.  Where  there  are  wide  spaces  betw^een 
existing  ties,  an  extra  one  should  be  put  in  and  the 
adjoining  ties  shifted  as  necessary  to  divide  up  the 
space.  For  a  thirty-three  foot  rail  length,  an  aver- 
age of  eighteen  good  sized  ties  makes  good  track. 
Ties  sawn  square  should  not  be  put  under  a  rail  joint 
if  it  can  be  avoided.  When  putting  in  ties  a  foreman 
should  arrange  his  gang  in  such  a  w-ay  that  all  can 
be  working  at  once,  having  each  man  do  the  work  he 
is  best  suited  to  perform.  When  working  a  large 
number  of  men  he  ought  to  have  tools  enough  to  work 
them  in  separate  gangs,  because  in  this  w^ay  more 
work  can  be  done  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  men 
employed.  However,  with  section  forces  making  tie 
renewals  it  is  not  often  advisable  to  divide  up  the 
gang,  but  if  track  is  in  poor  condition  as  to  ties  other 
gangs  can  be  added  as  necessary. 

Finish  as  you  go.  The  tie  renewals  when  once 
started  should  be  prosecuted  continuously  and  with 
as  little  interruption  as  possible  to  take  care  of  cor- 
rections to  surface,  line  or  gage  that  cannot  wait,  of 
course  changing  out  rails  that  show  signs  of  failure. 
It  is  best  to  begin  the  tie  work  at  the  end  of  section 
farthest  from  the  foreman's  headquarters  and  work 
toward  the  tool  house  if  possible,  but  it  is  also  well 


SUINBIER  TRACK  WORK  97 

to  have  adjoining  sections  start  together  at  the  sec- 
tion line  and  work  apart,  thus  giving  the  large  amount 
of  repaired  track  in  one  place. 

Two  kinds  of  foremen  are  in  the  railroad  business 
today.  One  is  represented  by  the  man  who  does  ex- 
actly what  he  is  told  in  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
been  instructed ;  the  other  carries  on  what  he  under- 
stands to  be  the  intention  of  the  superior  officer,  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  will  pass  inspection,  but  he 
tries  to  do  it  in  a  brand  new  way,  or  at  least  in  a  way 
different  from  the  one  that  has  been  indicated  to  him 
as  satisfactory  by  his  supervisor.  This  kind  of  man 
fails  to  realize  that  there  may  be  reasons  for  the  in- 
structions that  are  given  him,  of  which  he  does  not 
know,  but  no  one  has  had  time  to  explain  to  him.  The 
first  rule  is  to  do  exactly  as  your  superior  officer  tells 
you  to  do,  exactly  the  way  in  which  you  think  he 
would  do  it  if  he  were  there  to  do  it  in  your  place. 
The  foreman  who  can  follow  this  rule  and  does  con- 
scientiously follow  it  will  get  along  a  good  deal  faster 
in  the  railroad  business  than  the  other  foreman  who 
thinks  that  a  second  rate  new-fangled  method  is  bet- 
ter than  a  first  rate  old  one. 

As  soon  as  new  ties  are  installed  in  place  they 
should  be  tamped  and  spiked,  putting  on  tie  plates  if 
required  at  the  same  time.  It  is  not  good  practice  to 
open  up  and  weaken  a  lot  of  track  and  let  the  new 
ties  go  unspiked  until  you  can  make  a  general  job 
of  spiking,  but  when  one  or  two  are  applied  they 
should  be  spiked  at  once.  The  neglect  of  this  rule 
has  been  the  cause  of  serious  accidents.  Fill  in  the 
ballast  that  has  been  removed,  and  dress  up  gener- 
ally as  you  go  so  that  if  called  away  at  any  time  on 
other  work  you  wall  leave  good,  safe  track. 

Remove  the  bark.  The  bark  should  be  removed 
from  all  hewn  or  round  timber  used  in  railroad  con- 


98  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

struction,  before  it  is  put  into  service.  If  allowed 
to  remain  it  retards  the  evaporation  of  moisture  and 
thereby  hastens  decay. 

Bridge  piles  will  remain  sound  longer  if  the  bark 
is  removed.  The  same  may  be  said  of  fence  posts. 
Considerable  loss  of  strength  is  occasioned  by  the  fail- 
ure of  nails  or  other  fastenings  to  secure  a  firm  hold 
on  the  wood  where  they  are  driven  through  the  bark. 

In  the  case  of  track  ties,  the  bark  not  only  causes 
decay  but  is  a  source  of  annoyance  in  tamping  or  re- 
pairing the  track  and  dangerous  on  account  of  fire. 
The  best  plan  is  to  have,  in  the  specifications  for  ties 
delivered  by  contract,  a  clause  that  they  have  all  bark 
removed. 

When  new  ties  are  being  placed  in  position  they 
should  not  be  damaged  by  using  picks  or  other  sharp 
pointed  tools.  Tie  tongs,  such  as  are  now  on  the  mar- 
ket, afford  a  satisfactory  method  of  handling  ties 
without  injuring  them. 

Ties  in  highway  crossings.  When  renewing  ties, 
the  trackmen  should  not  overlook  highway  crossings, 
where  it  is  necessary  to  take  up  the  plank,  examine 
closely  as  to  their  condition,  and  make  whatever  re- 
newals are  necessary. 

Renewing  ties  when  ballasting.  AVhen  ballasting 
with  gravel,  stone  or  other  material,  the  ties  in  need 
of  renewal  should  be  changed  out,  as  the  work  is  more 
easily  done  then  and  the  cost  is  less.  It  is  well  to 
make  such  renewals  that  the  track  will  not  have  to 
be  disturbed  for  two  or  three  years.  If  any  ties  so 
removed  are  found  to  be  in  fair  condition  they  can 
be  turned  over  and  used  in  nearby  sidings. 

Renewal  methods  on  various  roads.  A  very  in- 
teresting method  and  blank  forms  for  keeping  tie  re^ 
newal  reports  on  different  roads  were  published  in 
the  Ry.  Age  Gaz.  for  May  21,  1915,  the  accompany- 
ing description  reading  as  follows ; 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK  99 

'  ''The  latest  official  statistics  show  that  the  rail- 
roads spend  annually  about  $55,000,000  for  the  ties 
used  to  replace  those  removed  from  the  track  on  ac- 
count of  wear,  decay,  accidents,  etc.  This  figure, 
which  does  not  include  the  cost  of  labor  for  distribut- 
ing the  new  ties,  placing  them  in  the  track  and  dis- 
posing of  the  old  ones,  together  requiring  so  large  a 
part  of  the  trackmen's  time  during  the  spring  and 
summer,  is  about  15%  of  the  total  cost  of  maintenance 
of  way  and  structures  and  3%  of  all  operating  ex- 
penses. It  is  obvious  then  that  particular  care  is  jus- 
tified to  insure  the  lowest  percentage  of  renewals  con- 
sistent with  proper  maintenance  standards;  and  im- 
portant as  this  subject  is  at  present,  it  is  becoming 
increasingly  so  on  account  of  the  rapidly  increasing 
cost  of  ties. 

''Theoretically,  to  attain  the  maximum  economy 
every  tie  should  remain  in  the  track  until  it  reaches 
the  point  in  its  deterioration  when  it  will  no  longer 
support  the  rails  with  the  proper  factor  of  safety,  and 
should  then  be  removed  immediately.  Practically, 
since  ties  are  renewed  once  a  year  it  is  the  general 
rule  to  remove  all  that  will  not  safely  carry  the  loads 
for  another  year,  and  on  account  of  the  disadvan- 
tages resulting  from  tearing  up  the  roadbed,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  ties  with  even  a  greater  life  than  this  are 
renewed  during  general  surfacing,  re-ballasting  or  rail 
renewal. 

' '  Some  roads  have  tried  to  assign  a  reasonable  num- 
ber of  ties  to  each  section  and  leave  it  to  the  foremen 
to  use  them  to  best  advantage,  but  the  imperfections 
of  this  scheme  are  obvious.  It  is  almost  universal 
therefore  to  base  the  requisition  for  ties  on  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  track  prior  to  the  season  of  renewal,  al- 
though the  methods  of  making  this  inspection,  of 
checking  the  reports  and  of  supervising  the  work  of 
placing  the  new  ties  in  the  track  vary  widely.    These 


100  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

differences  as  they  exist  on  16  typical  important  roads 
are  discussed  in  the  following  paragraphs. 

"Inspection  and  marking.  The  inspection  upon 
which  the  requisition  and  allotment  of  new  ties  is 
made  is  left  to  the  section  foremen  on  the  Central 
Kailroad  of  New  Jersey  with  very  satisfactory  results. 
The  supervisors  are  constantly  in  touch  with  the  fore- 
men, walking  each  section  during  the  year  and  fa- 
miliarizing themselves  with  the  details.  Each  fore- 
man is  allowed  to  ask  for  as  many  ties  as  he  thinks 
he  will  require.  These  data  are  then  checked  up  by 
the  supervisors,  who  have  acquired  during  the  course 
of  the  year  an  approximate  idea  of  what  the  needs 
of  each  section  will  be.  The  requirements  are  then 
forwarded  to  the  Engineers  Maintenance  of  Way,  who 
tabulate  the  data  and  make  requisition  for  the  neces- 
sary ties.  After  renewals  have  started,  the  supervis- 
ors and  assistant  supervisors  examine  all  ties  re- 
moved very  carefully,  and  if  a  foreman  is  found  to 
be  removing  too  many  ties,  or  leaving  poor  ties  in  the 
track,  his  attention  is  drawn  forcibly  to  the  fact. 
The  Engineers  Maintenance  of  Way  as  well  as  the 
Superintendents  also  inspect  ties  that  are  removed  at 
frequent  and  unexpected  intervals  in  their  trips  over 
the  line.  Any  ties  removed  from  the  track  that  are 
found  to  have  any  additional  life  are  sorted  and 
picked  up  by  the  work  train  and  used  in  siding  re- 
pairs or  construction,  being  spotted  in  with  good  or 
new  ties.  Under  this  system  the  situation  has  grad- 
ually improved  until  it  is  scarcely  ever  necessary  to 
draw  a  foreman's  attention  to  any  misjudgment,  and 
much  better  results  are  being  secured  than  by  meth- 
ods previously  employed.  The  objection  to  leaving 
the  selection  of  ties  to  be  removed  from  the  track  en- 
tirely to  the  section  foreman,  which  is  advanced  by 
some  maintenance  men,  is  that  there  is  too  great  a 
tendency  under  this  method  to  praise  the  man  who 


SUJVfflVIER  TRACK  WORK  101 

puts  in  the  most  ties  per  day  per  man,  resulting  in 
the  removal  of  some  ties  from  which  additional  life 
could  be  secured. 

''Several  roads  have  found  it  advantageous  to  com- 
bine the  detailed  inspection  of  the  foremen  with  check 
inspections  by  supervisors,  roadmasters,  engineers  or 
superintendents.  On  the  Boston  &  Albany  the  fore- 
man's statement  is  checked  up  by  the  supervisor  or 
his  assistant  and  is  then  sent  to  the  division  engineer 
for  approval.  On  the  Pennsylvania  the  practice  is 
similar  except  that  the  division  engineer,  usually  ac- 
companied by  the  supervisor,  also  makes  frequent  in- 
dependent inspections  to  see  that  the  proposed  renew- 
als are  proper  and  economical.  In  addition,  there 
are  men  assigned  to  special  duty  both  on  the  division 
and  in  the  office  of  the  Engineer  Maintenance  of  Way, 
who  regularly  follow  up  tie  renewals,  making  an  in- 
spection both  of  the  ties  removed  from  the  track  and 
those  left  in.  These  men  submit  reports  on  what  they 
find  and  any  cases  of  bad  judgment  are  taken  up 
through  the  regular  channels.  During  the  time  that 
this  practice  has  been  followed,  covering  the  last  six 
or  seven  years,  there  has  rarely  been  any  cause  for 
criticism. 

"The  reports  of  the  Northern  Pacific  section  fore- 
men are  checked  by  the  roadmasters  walking  over  a 
part  of  each  section,  and  in  addition  the  division  su- 
perintendent goes  over  at  least  three  sections  on  each 
roadmaster's  district  accompanied  by  the  roadmaster 
on  a  hand  car  or  on  foot  to  verify  the  tie  require- 
ments. The  Illinois  Central  requires  the  supervisors, 
after  receiving  the  foremen's  reports,  to  make  an  in- 
dependent inspection  and  then  forward  the  foremen's 
-.  reports  with  their  recommendations.  The  roadmas- 
ters, on  receipt  of  the  supervisors'  reports,  check  the 
judgment  of  their  men. 

''Some  roads  place  the  responsibility  for  the  tie  in- 


102  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

spection  entirely  on  the  supervisors  or  roadmasters. 
Such  roads  include  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe, 
the  Norfolk  &  Western  and  the  New  York  Central. 
On  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  all  tie  inspections  are  now 
being  made  by  the  supervisors,  and  a  general  tie  in- 
spector for  the  system  checks  up  these  reports.  This 
method  has  been  found  better  than  a  previous  one  in 
which  tie  inspectors  alone  handled  this  work.  Other 
roads,  including  the  Chicago  &  North  Western,  the 
New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford,  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading,  the  St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco,  and  the 
Union  Pacific,  require  the  roadmaster  or  supervisor 
and  the  section  foremen  to  go  over  the  line  together 
for  the  inspection  of  ties  to  be  renewed,  thus  com- 
bining the  broader  experience  and  better  judgment  of 
the  superior  officer  with  the  detailed  knowledge  of 
local  conditions  possessed  by  the  foreman. 

''On  two  of  the  roads  considered,  the  tie  inspector 
is  used  with  satisfaction.  The  Queen  &  Crescent  in- 
spectors are  selected  by  the  roadmasters  and  report 
to  them. 

''They  are  accompanied  in  making  their  trip  over 
the  line  by  each  supervisor  while  working  on  his  dis- 
trict. The  Buffalo,  Rochester  &  Pittsburgh  selects  the 
most  intelligent  extra  gang  foremen  for  tie  inspectors, 
making  them  report  to  the  division  engineers.  They 
are  accompanied  by  the  section  foremen  in  going  over 
the  line.  The  roadmasters  and  foremen  are  not  re- 
lieved of  responsibility  for  the  safety  of  their  track 
on  this  road  and  are  given  a  proper  voice  in  the  mat- 
ter of  tie  renewal. 

"The  time  of  making  tie  inspections  is  also  ex- 
tremely variable,  so  that  considering  April  1  as  the 
beginning  of  the  tie  renewal  season,  the  inspection  is 
begun  on  some  roads  as  much  as  nine  months  before 
that  date  and  is  not  finished  on  others  until  three 
months  after  it.    The  Boston  &  Albany  and  the  New 


SUIVCVIER  TRACK  WORK  103 

York  Central  are  among  those  that  begin  early,  the 
former  making  its  inspection  during  July  and  Au- 
gust, and  the  latter  usually  finishing  it  before  October 
1.  The  Union  Pacific,  the  Chicago  &  North  Western, 
the  Pennsylvania,  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jer- 
sey, the  St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco,  and  the  New 
Haven  require  the  inspection  to  be  made  during  the 
fall,  and  the  Queen  &  Crescent  specifies  December. 
On  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  the  work  is  begun  as  soon 
as  possible  after  January  1  and  is  completed  before 
July  1.  The  months  of  April  and  May  are  designated 
for  tie  inspection  on  the  Illinois  Central,  and  on  the 
New  Haven  and  the  Buffalo,  Rochester  &  Pittsburgh, 
the  work  is  handled  during  the  spring,  beginning  on 
the  latter  road  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the 
ground. 

''The  points  to  be  considered  in  an  inspection  of 
ties  in  the  track  maj^  be  left  entirely  to  the  judgment 
of  the  inspector  or  be  covered  more  or  less  completely 
by  written  instructions,  depending  on  the  practice  of 
the  individual  roads.  When  such  instructions  are 
brief  thev  ordiuarilv  mention  a  close  examination  in- 
eluding  the  ties  on  each  side  of  the  one  under  con- 
sideration, the  local  roadbed  conditions,  the  location, 
whether  in  curve  or  tangent,  the  amount  and  charac- 
ter of  the  ti^ffic,  the  visible  rot  or  crack,  and  a  test 
with  an  adze  or  other  suitable  tool  to  determine  in- 
terior soundness.  A  very  complete  set  of  instructions 
is  issued  to  the  tie  inspectors  on  the  Buffalo,  Rochester 
&  Pittsburgh,  from  which  the  following  abstract  is 
taken : 

"There  are  two  standards  for  making  renewals  in 
main  track;  first,  where  the  track  is  not  to  be  dis- 
turbed and  the  ties  will  therefore  be  dug  in  and,  sec- 
ond, where  the  track  is  to  be  raised  off  of  the  old  bed 
allowing  the  ties  to  be  placed  during  the  raise.  Under 
the  first  condition  ties  must  be  inspected  by  driving 


104  THE  TEACKJVIAN'S  HELPER 

a  pick  in  each  side  adjacent  to  the  rail  seat  near  both 
the  bottom  and  the  top  faces  below  the  sap  line.  The 
pick  must  be  driven  into  the  ties  toward  the  center 
and  be  drawn  with  as  little  prying  as  possible.  The 
ties  must  not  be  tested  on  the  top  except  in  an  en- 
deavor to  find  decay  around  the  tie  plate  and  spike, 
and  in  such  tests  the  ties  must  not  be  mutilated  more 
than  absolutely  necessary.  To  test  the  tie  for 
strength,  one  end  of  a  pick  should  be  inserted  under 
the  end  of  the  tie  and  the  pick  used  as  a  lever.  If 
the  tie  is  broken  under  the  rail  seat  this  will  usually 
determine  it.  If  two  ties  with  only  one  year's  safe 
service  are  adjacent,  one  must  be  removed.  In  a 
group  of  ties,  all  of  which  have  only  one  year's  safe 
service,  enough  must  be  renewed  to  leave  each  doubt- 
ful tie  with  one  good  neighbor.  Sap  rot  alone  is  not 
sufficient  to  condemn  a  tie.  A  tie  cut  down  by  rail 
wear  should  not  be  renewed  unless  the  rail  has  cut 
into  the  face  more  than  %  in.  This  applies  to  ties 
on  tangent,  as  all  curves  are  tie  plated.  On  curves 
when  by  being  adzed  repeatedly  for  rail  renewal  a 
tie  is  cut  down  sufficiently  to  weaken  it,  it  should  be 
removed  and  used  for  side  track  renewals  if  the  tim- 
ber is  sound.  On  tangents  where  a  good  tie  is  cut 
down  %  in.  by  rail  wear  or  adzing  it  should  be  pro- 
tected with  tie  plates  against  further  cutting.  Care- 
ful attention  must  be  given  to  the  inspection  of  red 
oak  and  pin  oak  ties,  as  this  timber  usually  rots  from 
the  center,  leaving  a  hard  shell  which  can  be  detected 
only  by  careful  inspection.  In  track  that  is  subject 
to  heaving  and  where  shimming  is  necessary,  care 
must  be  taken  to  insure  enough  good  ties  for  spiking 
and  bracing,  and  special  attention  must  be  given  to 
the  inspection  of  ties  through  road  crossings,  station 
platforms  and  other  places  where  they  are  covered  and 
likely  to  be  overlooked  by  the  section  men. 

''The  second  condition  governing  the  marking  of 


SU]\IMER  TRACK  WORK 


1Q5 


ties  for  renewal  arises  from  the  policy  of  the  com- 
pany to  resurface  out  of  face  a  part  of  the  main  line 
on  each  section  each  year  in  addition  to  the  reballast- 
ing  of  track  when  new  rail  is  laid.  In  such  cases  it 
is  the  intention  to  make  sufficient  renewals  to  last  two 
three  years  without  having  to  disturb  the  track 


or 


"""  "buffalo,  ROCHESTER  &  PITTSBURGH  RY. 

ENOINEERINQ     DEPARTMENT 
FOREMAN'S   DAILY  REPORT  OF  TIES   PUT  IN   TRACK 

Date 1 91  _ 

_     Division 

fte'^llnn 

Ull.  P..1                                      ^^S<,|.  Pn.< 

1 

LOC*TION 

T 

c 

RO 

BO 

PO 

M 

a 

en. 

Cr. 

G 

c 

H 

p 

Is 

MM 

RGMARKS 

North  Bound  Track 

South  Bound  Track 

Single  Main  Track 

SWe  Track  No. 

SMe  Track  No. 

Sld«  Track  No. 

No.  7  Switch  Set 

No.  7  Switch  Set 

No.  a  Switch  Sat 

No.  a  Switch  Set 

No    9  Switch  Set 

No.  0  Switch  Set 

No   12  Switch  Set 

No.  12  Switch  Sat 

No.  7  Xover  Set 

No.  9  Xover  Sat 

No.  12  Xover  Set 

Correct 

Signatu 

re 

noAowASTcn 

sec.   rORCMAN 

INSTRUCTIONS-Seetlon  Foreman  muat  fill  out  ena  of  theae  reporta  covering  tlea  put  In  main  track*  and  aldlnoa 
lor  each  mile,  and  mall  to  Roadmaater  at  eloae  of  each  day.      Note  oppoilta  each  awltch  and 
crossover  aet,  under  proper  Heading,  tjie  number  of  pieces  of  each  kind  of  timber,  and  ahow 
station  and  side  track  number  where  located.    Show  station  where  each  side  track  la  located 
In  remarks  column  oppoalte. 

Fig. 


14.     The  B.  R. 


&  P.   Foreman's  Report  of   Ties  Put  in 
Track 


during  that  time.  Under  this  condition  the  inspect- 
ors test  the  ties  as  previously  described,  removing  all 
that  will  not  last  more  than  two  years.  Where  new 
steel  is  laid,  no  bad  ties  must  be  left  under  the  joints. 
In  making  renewals  in  this  case,  some  fairly  good  ties 
may  be  taken  out,  in  which  case  they  should  be  care- 


106 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


fully  sorted  and  piled,  to  be  picked  up  and  distributed 
for  side  track  renewals.  A  lower  standard  of  inspec- 
tion is  used  for  mine  tracks  and  side  tracks,  and  es- 
pecially for  standing  tracks  in  yards  where  no  ties 
are  taken  out  until  their  safe  service  is  passed.  In 
passing  tracks  care  should  be  used  to  see  that  all  ties 
around  turnout  curves  are  in  good  condition. 

"Although  a  large  majority  of  the  roads  considered 
require  the  officer  making  the  first  inspection  to  mark 
each  tie  in  some  distinctive  manner  for  future  iden- 
tification, several  roads,  including  the  Pennsylvania, 
the  Union  Pacific  and  the  Central  Railroad  of  New 


—  —               BUFFALO,   ROCHESTER  &,  PITTSBURGH   RAILWAY               ,...„ 

e:isio(me:e:f)ino    oef^  ARTMe:is*T                                                                                       ; 
FOREMAN'S   DAILY   REPORT   OF  TREATED   TIES   TAKEN   OUT   OF  TRACK                          j 

Dale 191 

OUI.IO. 

S.cfien 

B.1.«Mn  MU.  Po.»                                 _..<i  ""'•   P..* -M 

LOCATION                 T 

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REMARKS 

North  BoHad  Track 

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S«wth  Beynd  Tract 

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Signatyr. 

•  (CTi^-    *..(■•■ 

INSTRUCTIONS-Secliort  Foreman  miut  nil  out  en*  of  the**  reports  eo»*rinf  treated  t.e.  taken  owt  of  ma.n  tracks  and  sldmg*  for  each  mile,  and  ma.l 
to  Roadmasler  at  close  of  *aeh  day.     Show  ond*'  proper  heading  all  ties  ha«.ng  corresponding  letter  en  na.l.  and  sho-  thoa*  ha«<n« 

same  date  an  dating  nail  on  the  same  lino  and  give  dati.     In  ose  number  en  dat.ng  nx.l  cannct  be  read,  g.ve  date  as  shewn  by  pest. 

tien  of  nail  in  tie  In  accordance  with  standard  instructions.        Not*  oppssit*  oscH  switch   and   crosse«e>    sot.  under  proper  headma. 

tKe  rtuml»er  or  aieces  ef  each  kind  of  timber,  and  thow  station  and  side    track   number   where    located.        Show    ttatton    wh*r*    stdd 

track  is  located  in  reraarhs  column  oBDOsH*.                                                                                                  — 

Fig.    15.     A    Report    Covering    Treated    Ties    Taken    Out    of 

Track 

Jersey  use  no  system  of  marking.  The  two  commonly 
recognized  methods  of  designating  ties  for  renewal  are 
by  cutting  with  an  adze  or  axe,  and  by  painting  a  line 
on  the  web  or  base  of  the  rail  directly  over  the  tie. 
Various  forms  of  cutting  are  in  use,  such  as  chipping 
off  one  corner,  and  notching  the  side  or  top  of  the 
tie,  while  on  the  Northern  Pacific  two  gashes  about 
3  in.  apart  are  cut  on  the  side  near  the  end.  The 
Buffalo,  Rochester  &  Pittsburgh,  the  Queen  &  Cres- 
cent, the  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  and  the  Atchison,  To- 
peka  &  Santa  Fe  use  paint. 

"Renewals  and  records.     On  the  Union  Pacific  it 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK 


107 


is  the  practice  to  distribute  enough  ties  before  March 
1  to  care  for  the  renewals  on  each  section  up  to  June 
30,  the  remainder  being  piled  in  yards  and  distributed 
after  July  1,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  mowing 
of  the  right  of  way.  The  roadmaster  selects  the  loca- 
tions at  which  the  renewals  are  to  be  made  each 
month  and  inspects  the  ties  after  renewal.  On  the 
Pennsylvania  the  foreman  "blazes"  or  marks  with 
kiel  the  ties  that  are  to  come  out  just  previous  to 
their  renewal.  The  ties  removed  are  held  for  inspec- 
tion and  the  good  ones  returned  to  side  tracks,  the 
rest  being  burned  or  destroyed.  On  the  New  York 
Central  the  foremen  are  instructed  to  avoid  as  far 


Incticofes 
kind  of 

fimber.-) 


— r- 


<  H  h^  H  H  M  M  H  M  H  N  H  M  M  M  »-^  H  ^ 


■8" 


■18  (^Z"' 3-0"- 


Fig.  16.     Method  Used  on  the  B.   R.   &  P.   for  Marking  the 
Kind  of  Timber  and  the  Year  Ties  Are  Put  in  Track 


as  possible  the  renewal  of  ties  to  face  and  they  are 
cautioned  particularly  against  damaging  the  ties  by 
picks  or  by  hammering  them  in  spacing.  Tie  tongs 
are  furnished  on  all  sections  where  treated  ties  are 
used  and  tie  plugs  are  required  to  be  driven  in  the 
holes  whenever  a  spike  is  drawn.  To  reduce  the  tend- 
ency to  decay  around  the  holes  these  plugs  are 
treated. 

* '  On  the  Queen  &  Crescent  the  foreman,  during  the 
renewal  of  ties,  examines  carefully  each  tie  spotted  for 
renewal  by  the  inspector  and  leaves  in  the  track  any 
that  he  thinks  will  last  another  year.  He  also  reports 
any  ties  not  spotted  that  he  thinks  should  be  removed, 
giving  their  location,  but  waiting  for  authority  from 


108 


THE  TRACKAIANS  HELPER 


the  roadinaster  before  taking  them  out  of  the  track. 
On  the  B.,  R.  &  P.,  the  foremen  renew  only  the  ties 
spotted  by  the  inspectors  on  track  that  is  not  to  be 
raised.  In  case  they  think  additional  ties  should  be 
removed  they  report  to  the  roadmaster,  who  has  the 
ties  reinspected.  In  track  that  is  being  raised  the 
foremen  are  allowed  to  remove  unmarked  ties  which 
should  come  out,  placing  a  cross  on  them  for  special 
inspection  later.  Such  ties  are  used  again  if  possible. 
The  inspectors  on  this  road  are  instructed  to  watch 
carefully  the  practice  of  section  forces  in  renewing 
ties  and  to  report  an}'  improper  practice.     It  is  cus- 


Ife          BOSTON  &  ALBANY  RAILROAD 

»Mi  n.    H. 

CROSS  TIES  TACEI-  OUT  OF  TRAM  .._,  «-  _^ 

Sectioe  FoRmen  sfcal  tepon  al  Cra»  Tms  ukem  oat  nt  Track,  wv  mcIwJmc  Bnlcr  or  S«ntd)  Tt^  t^  per  BUnk  F.»m  brkv*      Gnu  »rT  •Antld 
be  Likca  to  fnv  aH  iafarvaboa    caHtd  lor.      la  arfnnn  "IGad  of  TitaUKni**  the  [ollovmf:  \eHen  sSouU  be  iced  iftMC^d  d  vritnie  word&  in  (ofl  ~ 
Unurarnd.  I     Tnrat*^    Ziw  Oloridc  Procws   Z    C\     Cmisoc«.  C:  R«rppine    RP 

KivD  or                               Ckfsf  or  KtMOru. 

W    BKMtM  U. 

—    ^zz.  ~;r 

T*_w         ^'-',       D*«-i    a.-  c.     iSi;   1  f  ■"" 

^^                0^» 

1 

i      ;      !        1        1 

1 

1 

1 

1             .             .                     '          ; 

1 

. 1 1 

1 

<wnn«..-. 

JSVfOtfitf. 

'""'"' 

Fig.  17.     The    Boston    &    Albany    Form    for    Reporting    Cross 

Ties  Taken  Out  of  Track 


tomary  on  most  roads  to  pile  and  burn  the  ties  re- 
moved after  proper  inspection  to  secure  ties  that  maj^ 
have  additional  life  in  side  tracks  or  yards.  Special 
precautions  are  necessary  in  burning  ties  to  prevent 
fire  damage  to  the  telegraph  line,  right  of  way  fences 
and  adjacent  property. 

"The  number  and  kinds  of  records  of  tie  renewals 
kept  for  future  reference  differ  considerably^  on  the 
roads  considered.  These  permanent  records  are  kept 
by  various  officers  ranging  from  the  division  engineer 
to  the  general  manager  and  the  records  may  be  in- 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK  109 

tended  simply  for  a  check  of  the  actual  renewals  with 
the  requisition  or  for  comparisons  of  the  renewals  on 
each  mile  for  a  period  of  years  to  make  possible  close 
supervision.  On  the  Union  Pacific  each  roadmaster 
is  given  an  allowance  showing  the  number  of  ties  that 
can  be  used  each  month  to  avoid  getting  the  expense 
for  all  renewals  in  one  month.  To  supplement  the 
record  turned  in  by  the  tie  inspector,  the  foremen  on 
the  Queen  &  Crescent  are  required  to  make  a  monthly 
report  to  the  roadmaster  showing  the  number  of  ties 
on  each  mile  spotted  for  renewal,  but  found  good  for 
another  year,  and  also  the  number  not  spotted  but 
removed,  with  the  cause  of  their  removal.  The  Bos- 
ton &  Albany  keeps  a  record  by  weeks  of  all  ties  taken 
out  of  track  on  the  forms  reproduced  herewith. 

"The  B.,  R.  &  P.  R.  R.  requires  a  daily  report  from 
foremen  showing  ties  put  in  the  track  and  treated  ties 
removed.  This  information  furnished  on  the  blanks 
reproduced  herewith,  is  tabulated  in  the  office  of  the 
chief  engineer  in  book  form  by  weeks.  The  treated 
ties  on  this  road  are  marked  at  the  treating  plant  by 
a  galvanized  nail  bearing  letters  indicating  the  kind 
of  timber,  which  are  driven  in  the  upper  face  of  the 
tie  12  in.  from  one  end.  When  the  ties  are  placed 
in  the  track  a  similar  nail  bearing  the  date  is  placed 
in  the  upper  face  of  the  tie  between  the  rails,  the 
position  along  the  tie  also  being  varied  hy  an  incre- 
ment of  2  in,  for  each  year.  On  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  the  record  of  ties  marked  for  renewal  is  trans- 
ferred in  the  office  of  the  division  engineer  to  forms 
covering  main  and  side  track,  tie  inspection  and  re- 
newals, blue  prints  of  which  are  sent  to  the  Engineer 
Maintenance  of  Way  through  the  office  of  the  district 
Engineer  Maintenance  of  Way  immediately  upon  the 
completion  of  the  inspection  for  the  division.  Dur- 
ing the  season  of  renewals  the  foremen  report 
monthly  on  the  ties  removed  from  track,  this  report 


no  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

accompanying  and  checking  the  material  report. 
This  information  is  also  entered  on  the  forms  men- 
tioned above,  furnishing  a  complete  record  of  the  re- 
newals of  the  year  by  miles. 

"On  the  Illinois  Central  a  record  is  kept  in  the  of- 
fice of  the  chief  engineer  of  all  ties  used  each  year 
for  construction  and  maintenance  and  also  a  special 
graphical  record  of  the  renewals  in  main  track.  Each 
district  has  a  separate  chart,  and  these  are  bound  in 
book  form.  A  book  covering  the  entire  system  is  kept 
in  the  office  of  the  chief  engineer  and  one  covering 
each  division  is  furnishd  to  the  division  superinten- 
dent. As  soon  as  the  recommendations  for  tie  renew- 
als are  made  they  are  plotted  on  the  chart  and  when 
any  important  difference  from  the  accumulative  aver- 
age is  shown  an  investigation  is  immediately  made 
by  an  assistant  engineer  from  the  office  of  the  En- 
gineer Maintenance  of  Way  or  by  an  old  roadmaster 
selected  by  the  Engineer  Maintenance  of  Way  on  ac- 
count of  his  previous  good  record  in  tie  renewals.  The 
curves  shown  herewith  illustrate  the  manner  of  keep- 
ing this  record  for  a  typical  division  (Fig.  18). 

"In  determining  the  average  number  of  ties  per 
mile  used  in  renewals  each  year,  a  correction  is  ap- 
plied in  cases  where  new  lines  have  been  constructed, 
so  that  the  average  derived  furnishes  a  comparison 
of  the  renewals  on  all  divisions  regardless  of  the  date 
the  line  was  constructed.  The  mileage  of  new  track 
is  therefore  added  not  in  its  entirety  the  year  the 
line  is  built  but  in  sections  during  the  period  of  nine 
years.  The  amount  added  each  year  is  proportion- 
ate to  the  estimated  tie  renewals  required  for  that 
year.  The  first  addition  is  made  during  the  third 
year,  amounting  to  2  per  cent,  the  remainder  being 
added  as  follows :  fourth  year  3  per  cent,  fifth  year 
5  per  cent,  sixth  year  5  per  cent,  seventh  year  25  per 
cent,  eighth  year  50  per  cent,  and  ninth,  10  per  cent. 


SmiMER  TRACK  WORK 


111 


On  account  of  the  increased  average  life  of  ties  re- 
sulting from  the  use  of  tie  plates  and  preservative 
treatment  these  percentages  will  be  revised  in  the  near 


1 

/397 

Cross  Ties  per  f'hie  of  Track 

K>                              C«                               -t^ 

^                            ^                            o 
•o                          <:i                          c:i 

'=^278 

^§ 

288 
283 
302 
339 
350 
353 
327 
34/ 
350 
348 
335 
334 
329 
34/ 
336 
335 
335 
372 
3/7 

(ft 

407.26 

480.66 

^80.96 

4  8/.  3/ 

48/94 

482.96 

485.60 

4  9/.  36 

S04.3/ 

5/2.68 

S/9.92 

538.22 

568.84 

S8S.64 

604.ZI 

602.84 

604.80 

608.65 

6/0.00 

en 

l/7^S£ 
/33909 
/6/8S7 
2/3903 
/  37 8 99 
/79960 
8599/ 
2/3/39 
208046 
/7/3dd 
/J/772 
/74/83 
/58399 
27S53/ 
/69427 
/99960 
200SS9 
226484 
/936/2 

98 
99 

00 
01 
02 

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\     06 

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19/5 

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273 

336 

444 

389 

373 

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434 

4/2 

334 

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324 

278 

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280 

33/ 

332 

338 

-^i 

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Fig.  18.  A  Chart  Kept  by  the  Illinois  Central,  Showing 
the  Actual  Annual  Consumption  and  the  Accumulative 
Average  Annual  Consumption  of  Ties  Per  Mile  of  Main 
Track  on  One  Division 

future.  Two  averages  are  shown  on  the  chart,  the 
solid  line  representing  the  average  ties  per  mile  used 
in  renewals  in  the  years  shown,  and  the  dotted  line 
the  accumulative  average  per  mile  used  in  renewals 


112  THE  TRACKIMAN'S  HELPER 

since  1897,  the  year  in  which  the  chart  begins.  The 
actual  number  of  ties  used  each  year  is  shown  at  the 
top  of  the  chart  and  the  scale  of  miles  is  corrected, 

not  actual/' 

Economy  in  the  use  of  treated  ties  and  the  com- 
parative cost  of  treating  seasoned  and  unseasoned 
ties.  Mr.  F.  J.  Angier,  Superintendent  Timber 
Preservation,  Baltimore  and  Ohio  R.  E.,  read  a  paper 
at  the  eighth  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Wood 
Preservers'  Association  at  Chicago,  from  which  we 
quote  the  following  abstract: 

"When  we  speak  of  an  unseasoned  tie,  we  mean 
one  freshly  cut,  or,  at  least,  one  that  has  been  recently 
cut  and  has  lost  but  a  very  small  amount  of  the  mois- 
ture which  it  originally  contained;  in  other  words, 
the  sap  wood -is  so  completely  filled  with  moisture  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  thoroughly  treat  the  tie 
until  this  moisture  had  been  at  least  partially  re- 
moved. A  seasoned  tie,  therefore,  is  one  that  has 
been  cut  for  some  time  and  the  moisture  allowed  to 
evaporate  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  The  time  nec- 
essary to  season  a  tie  so  that  it  can  be  properly  treated 
varies  in  different  localities,  as  well  as  in  different 
seasons.  The  kind  of  wood  also  is  of  considerable 
importance.  Oak  ties,  in  Illinois,  must  be  air-sea- 
soned six  months  or  more,  according  to  the  time  of 
year,  before  they  can  be  properly  treated.  Some 
kinds  of  ties  may  be  seasoned  in  three  or  four  months. 

''For  the  purpose  of  illustration  we  will  assume 
that  it  requires  six  hours  to  treat  a  charge  of  thor- 
oughly seasoned  ties  and  nine  hours  to  treat  a  charge 
of  "unseasoned  ties.  Of  course,  the  time  may  vary 
one  way  or  the  other,  but  we  found  this  to  be  a  fair 
average.  (It  should  be  stated  here  that  the  treatment 
referred  to  is  w^th  a  mixture  of  creosote  and  zinc- 
chloride,  known  as  the  card  process.) 

"Assuming  this  to  be  correct,  attention  is  called  to 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK  113 

the  two  tables  following,  one  showing  the  cost  of 
treating  in  a  plant  having  a  maximum  capacity  of 
1,800,000  seasoned  ties  a  year,  and  the  other  the  cost 
of  treating  in  the  same  plant,  where  the  maximum 
capacity  is  reduced  to  1,200,000  unseasoned  ties  a 
year. 

Cost  of  Seasoned  Ties;   Treating  Capacity  of  Plant, 

1,800,000  PER  Year 

Unloading  from  cars  to  ground  to  season  at  $0.0070 

each $  12,600.00 

Loading  from  ground  to  trains  at  $0.0055  each ....  9,900.00 

Switching  trams  at  $0.0020  per  tie  3,600.00 

Loading  treated  ties  out  at  $0.0065  each 11,700.00 

Fixed  expenses    23,268.00 

Preservatives  at  15  cts.  per  tie 270,000.00 

Fuel   (assume  1/3  less  for  seasoned  over  unseasoned 

ties)    5,600.00 

Insurance  carried  on  1,000,000  ties  (estimated)  ....  4,000.00 
Interest  on  1,000,000'  ties  for  six  months,  or  5  per 

cent  on  $250,000.00    12,500.00 

$353,168.00 
600,000  more  seasoned  ties  treated  than  unseasoned, 
worth  $0,044  each  per  year  extra    (see  state- 
ment)      26,400.00 

$326,768.00 
Cost  per  tie $0.1815 

Cost  of  LTn seasoned  Ties  ;  Treating  Capacity  of  Plant 

1,200,000  per  Year 

Unloading  one-fourth  from  cars  to  ground  to  enable 

prompt  releasing  of  cars,  at  $0.0070 $     2,100.00 

Loading  900,000  ties  from  cars  to  trams  at  platform 
and    300,000    ties    from    ground    to    trams    at 

$0.0055     6,600.00 

Switching    300,000    ties    from    yard    to    retorts    at 

$0.0020    i.  600.00 

Loading  ties  out  at  $0.0065  each 7,800.00 

Fixed  expenses    23,268.00 

Preservatives  at  15  cts.  per  tie    180,000.00 

Fuel 8,400.00 


114  THE  TRACKJMAN'S  HELPER 

Insurance  carried  on  300,000  ties    (estimated)  ....        1,200.00 
Interest  on  300,000  ties,  or  5  per  cent  on  $75,000.00       3,750.00 


$233,718.00 
Cost  per  tie $0.1948 

''In  each  case  the  total  cost  of  handling  is  shown 
from  the  moment  the  ties  are  received  at  the  plant 
until  they  are  loaded  into  cars  for  shipment.  In  the 
case  of  fixed  expenses  there  are  included  the  salaries 
of  the  superintendent,  general  foreman,  office  force, 
engineeers,  firemen,  etc. ;  that  is,  all  labor  which  would 
not  change  one  way  or  the  other,  whether  treating 
seasoned  or  unseasoned  ties.  This  amounts  to 
$0.0129  per  tie  when  treating  1,800,000  ties  per  year, 
and  $0.0194  when  treating  1,200,000  ties  per  year. 
In  the  case  of  seasoned  ties,  where  no  steaming  is 
done,  it  is  assumed  that  insurance  is  carried  on  1,000,- 
000  ties  for  six  months  and  that  $250,000  will  be  con- 
tinually invested  at  5  per  cent.  In  the  case  of  un- 
seasoned ties,  we  must  assume  that  at  least  300,000 
will  always  be  in  the  yard.  This  stock  is  necessary 
to  provide  against  delay  to  plant  at  certain  times  of 
the  year,  when  traffic  is  so  great  that  company  mate- 
rial cannot  be  moved  with  regularity.  Also,  at  cer- 
tain times  of  the  year,  ties  will  be  received  faster 
than  they  can  be  treated,  necessitating  the  storing 
of  a  portion  of  them. 

' '  It  is  shown  in  the  table  that  a  treated  tie  is  worth 
$0,044  per  year  to  the  company  more  than  an  un- 
treated one.     This  figure  is  obtained  as  follows : 

Untreated  Ties — 

First  cost  $0.50 

Cost  of  putting  in  track 15 

Cost  of  tie  in  track    $0.65 

5  per  cent  interest  on  investment  for  six  years 195 

Second  renewal,  end  of  six  years    65 


SUMMER  TRACK  WORK  115 

5   per   cent  interest  on   first   investment   for   six  years, 

and  on  second  investment  for  six  years 39 

Total  cost  of  tie  for  period  of  12  years $1,885 

Average  cost  per  tie  per  year   $0,157 

Treated  Ties- 
First  cost $0.70 

Cost  of  putting  in  track 15 

Cost  of  tie  in  track   $0.85 

5  per  cent  on  investment  for  12  years 51 

Total  cost  of  tie  for  12  years   $1.36 

Average  cost  per  tie  per  year   $0,113 

Saving  per  tie  per  year,  $0,044. 

**  Untreated  ties  are  assumed  to  last  six  years,  and 
treated  ties  twelve  years.  Assuming  this  to  be  rea- 
sonable, and  that  600,000  more  ties  per  year  can  be 
treated  when  thoroughly  seasoned,  deduct  from  the 
cost  of  seasoned  ties  the  difference  between  1,800,000 
ties  and  1,200,000  ties,  or  600,000  ties,  at  $0,044  each, 
and  we  have  a  difference  of  $0.0133  per  tie  in  favor 
of  treating  seasoned  ties. 

"In  addition  there  would  be  a  better  penetration 
of  the  preservatives;  therefore  a  longer  life  obtained 
for  the  ties  and  the  lessened  possibility  of  injury  to 
the  wood  by  steaming.  When  steaming  there  is  al- 
ways a  large  amount  of  sewage  to  dispose  of,  while 
in  non-steaming  there  is  practically  none.  The  dis- 
position of  sewage  is  a  difficult  problem  at  most 
plants,  because  no  matter  how  it  is  handled  some  of 
it  will  get  into  the  rivers  or  creeks  and  pollute  the 
water  to  such  an  extent  that  damage  suits  may  result. 
This  is  entirely  avoided  when  using  seasoned  ties." 


VI 

CUTTING  WEEDS 

Points  about  weeding.  On  embankments,  the 
weeds  should  be  kept  down  with  a  scythe  or  brush 
hook,  as  far  out  as  the  right  of  way  limits,  if  the  fore- 
man is  allowed  men  enough  to  perform  this  work  with- 
out neglecting  the  track  or  other  necessary  work.  A 
clean  track  is  not  necessarily  a  safe  track,  and  a  fore- 
man should  not  have  his  men  mowing  grass  and  weeds 
along  the  right  of  way,  unless  the  help  he  is  allowed 
and  the  condition  of  his  track  at  the  time  will  permit 
it.  When  weeds  are  cut  in  the  center  of  an  earth 
ballasted  track  or  on  an  embankment  the  earth  that 
is  picked  up  by  the  shovel  together  with  the  weeds 
should  not  be  thrown  down  the  embankment,  but 
should  be  turned  over  and  allowed  to  remain  where 
it  was  originally.  The  practice  of  shaving  off  the 
embankment  one  or  two  inches  everv  time  weeds  are 
cut  is  bad,  since  the  loose  earth  thrown  down  the  hill 
soon  washes  away,  and  each  additional  weed  cutting 
of  this  kind  weakens  the  shoulder,  makes  the  fill  nar- 
rower, and  in  time  allows  the  ends  of  the  ties  to  pro- 
ject over  the  bank  and  the  track  to  settle  for  want  of 
a  sufficient  support. 

In  connection  w4th  this  subject  attention  may  be 
called  to  the  fact  that  extensive  experiments  have  been 
made  on  some  of  the  prominent  roads  by  sprinkling 
the  roadbed  w^ith  oil,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the 
raising  of  dust  by  fast  trains.  The  observed  effects 
have  been  very  gratifying.     Not  onlv  does  the  oil  pre- 

116 


CUTTING  WEEDS 


117 


vent  the  former  clouds  of  dust,  but  it  has  proven  use- 
ful in  other  ways.  The  oil  acts  as  a  tie-preserving 
agent,  and  to  a  certain  extent  prevents  water  from 
soaking  into  the  roadbed,  and  finally  discourages  the 
rapid  growth  of  grass  and  weeds.     The  oil  is  applied 

A-  Kennedy  quicx  acting 
.Gate  Valves 


Section 


Ot: 


£"013.  Inside 


Plan. 

Fig.  19.     Section  and  Plan  of  Q.  &  C.  Sprinkling  Car 

on  cinder,  sand,  gravel,  or  earth  ballast,  with  equally 
good  results,  and  many  western  roads  are  making  ex- 
tensive tests  both  to  destroy  the  weeds  and  grass,  and 
to  prevent  the  heaving  of  track  by  frosts.  Any  de- 
velopment that  will  relieve  the  track  department  of 


118  THE  TRACKIMAN'S  HELPER 

weed  cutting  and  at  the  same  time  ^Ijay  the  dust  will 
meet  with  general  approval. 

We  show  herewith  in  Fig.  19  a  section  and  a  plan 
of  the  Q.  &  C.  oil  sprinkling  car.  A  4-inch  pipe  runs 
the  full  length  of  the  car  with  rubber  hose  attachments 
to  the  oil  supply,  which  is  carried  in  ordinary  tank 
cars.  To  this  main  pipe  other  pipes  are  attached  by 
rubber  hose  so  that  they  can  be  raised  or  lowered  ac- 
cording to  the  surface  of  the  roadbed.  Each  side 
sprinkler  is  adjusted  by  a  hand  wheel  with  chain  at- 
tached to  a  staff  supporting  the  outer  end  of  the  pipe. 
The  rails  are  protected  from  the  oil  spray  by  a  suit- 
able device,  as  shown  in  the  sectional  view. 

Tools  for  weed  cutting.  Although  a  shovel  is  most 
commonly  used  for  cutting  weeds  on  railroads,  tools 
such  as  that  shown  in  Fig.  20  are  used  on  many  roads 
on  account  of  their  superiority  in  many  respects.  In 
the  first  place,  they  are  more  convenient  for  the  men 
to  use*,  are  not  so  tiresome,  and  can  be  handled  with 
greater  convenience,  the  men  working  in  an  upright 
position  when  cutting  weeds  with  them,  instead  of  in 


=3 


Fig.  20.     Weed   Cutting   Tool 

the  stooped  or  bent  over  posture  which  must  be  as- 
sumed with  a  short-handled  shovel.  From  one-sixth 
to  one-fourth  more  weeds  may  be  cut  in  a  day  with 
this  tool  than  with  a  shovel.  It  is  less  expensive  than 
a  shovel,  and  the  dirt  or  ballast  that  would  be  lifted 
by  a  shovel  and  wasted  by  careless  men  is  not  dis- 
turbed by  the  tool  shown,  when  weeds  are  cut,  but 
remains  in  its  original  position  in  the  track  or  on  the 
shoulder  of  the  embankment.  This  last  advantage 
alone  is  a  sufficient  reason  for  its  general  introduction 


CUTTING  WEEDS  119 

on  all  roads  where  extensive  weed  cutting  is  neces- 
sary. 

The  weed  cutting  tool  should  have  a  blade  made  of 
very  thin,  hard  steel.  The  blade  of  the  hoe,  as  manu- 
factured for  garden  use,  when  properly  tempered,  is 
the  correct  thing,  because,  although  the  edge  grad- 
ually wears  away,  yet  it  never  requires  sharpening, 
as  would  be  the  case  with  thicker  blades  on  account 
of  their  coming  in  contact  with  stones  or  gravel. 

When  weeds  are  heavy,  section  foremen  can  greatly 
improve  the  appearance  of  their  track  and  save  con- 
siderable labor,  by  bolting  a  piece  of  timber  to  the 
end  of  the  hand  car,  allowing  it  to  project  far  enough 
out  on  the  side  of  the  track  to  carry  an  iron  rod  with 
a  small  steel  shovel  at  its  end  to  mark  on  the  ground 
the  outside  line  for  cutting  weeds  as  the  car  is  pushed 
ahead  on  the  track.  A  still  better  plan  is  to  rig  out 
a  thin  steel  wheel,  which  offers  less  resistance  to  the 
motion  of  the  car. 


VII 

BALLASTING 

Ballast.  Crushed  stone  is  the  best  kind  of  ballast 
since  it  makes  the  most  solid  foundation,  drains  the 
track  most  thoroughly,  does  not  heave  the  track  in 
cold  weather,  does  not  wash,  makes  little  or  no  dust 
and  stands  the  wear  and  tear  of  heavy  traffic  better 
than  any  other  kind.  There  is  no  doubt  that  ties  last 
longer  in  stone  ballast  than  in  any  other,  but  it  is 
hard  to  give  exact  data  as  to  how  much  longer. 

Fiirnace  slag  was  extensively  used  on  roads  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  country  until  the  adoption  of  the 
process  of  granulating  it  at  the  steel  mills  about  ten 
years  ago  because  of  economies  effected  in  the  handling 
of  it.  However  the  granulated  slag  now  received 
from  the  mills  is  used  to  some  extent  and  ranks  very 
close  to  gravel  for  general  excellence  as  ballast. 

Gravel  is  easier  to  procure  along  a  large  percentage 
of  roads  than  crushed  stone,  makes  easier  riding  track, 
and  is  easy  to  handle;  it  also  permits  of  track  being 
readily  lined  and  surfaced  and  ties  renewed  with  lit- 
tle labor. 

Burned  clay  ballast  is  used  in  parts  of  the  country 
where  gravel  and  stone  are  not  available. 

Cinders  make  an  effective  ballast  and  are  used  on 
account  of  their  cheapness,  it  being  necessary  to  load 
them  at  ash  pits,  and  those  not  required  for  filling  in 
connection  with  new  work  may  be  utilized  to  advan- 
tage for  this  purpose. 

Levels.  Levels  should  be  taken  by  engineers  and 
grade  stakes  set  every  hundred  feet  apart  indicating 

120 


BALLASTING 


121 


the  height  to  which  it  is  desired  to  bring  the  top  of 
the  rail.  If  for  any  reason  it  is  not  possible  for  the 
engineers  to  give  grade  stakes,  as  sometimes  happens 
when  track  is  being  re-ballasted,  the  spot  board  should 
be  used,  which  very  useful  and  convenient  tool  will 
now  be  described  for  the  benefit  of  any  who  may  not 
have  had  occasion  to  use  it. 

Spot  board.     For  use  in  raising  track  and  ballast- 
ing this  board  may  be  ten  feet  long,  eight  inches  wide 

,  ^     ,  fLine  of  Sight  Painted 


.:rt 


r    Elevation  of 
Outer  Rail 


Raising    Sight 
Block     Block 


-i^Peep  Hole  Attachment  to  run  elevation 

Q/y  Set  Screw  when  ballasting  without 

K^Elevation  using  the  ordinary  cross  level 
^^^  Of  Outer  Rail 


CURVE. 

Fig.  2L     Spot  Board 


and  about  one  and  a  quarter  inches  thick,  constructed 
of  white  pine  as  shown  in  Fig.  21.  One  of  the  legs 
should  be  about  sixteen  inches  long  and  the  other  three 
feet,  both  being  adjustable  by  means  of  the  set  screws 
shown.  A  convenient  coloring  for  the  board  is  to 
have  the  lower  half  black,  then  a  two-inch  white  stripe 
and  a  two-inch  red  one,  the  line  of  sight  being  to  the 
division  line  between  the  red  and  the  white  stripes, 


122  THE  TIIACK:MAN'S  HELPER 

or  two  inches  below  the  top  of  the  board.  Use  an 
eight-inch  raising-  block  so  that  the  top  of  finished  rail 
will  be  two  inches  below  the  bottom  of  the  board  or 
eight  inches  below  the  line  of  sight. 

The  use  of  the  spot  board  permits  of  taking  out  all 
small  irregularities  in  the  grade  by  running  from  one 
high  spot  to  another  where  it  is  not  desired  to  change 
the  height;  or  it  may  be  used  for  making  a  uniform 
lift  in  ballasting  such  as  is  often  the  case  when  the 
old  grade  of  the  track  is  regular.  The  operation  of 
setting  the  board  is  simply  to  force  the  legs  into  the 
ground  or  ballast,  and  banking  enough  dirt  around 
them  to  hold  firmly,  and  then  adjust  the  board  on  the 
legs  so  that  the  division  line  between  red  and  white 
is  exactly  eight  inches  above  the  height  selected  for 
the  finished  top  of  rail.  Then  level  up  the  board  by 
means  of  the  level  bubbles  provided. 

The  foreman  sights  through  the  sight  block  which 
has  a  peep  hole  for  that  purpose  8  inches  from  the 
top  of  the  rail  when  the  sight  block  is  resting  upon 
the  rail.  The  other  end  of  the  line  of  sight  is  the  di- 
vision line  between  red  and  white,  which  likewise  is 
exactly  8  inches  above  the  point  selected  for  the  fin- 
ished top  of  rail.  At  the  point  of  the  track  where 
the  jack  is  applied  another  8-inch  block  is  placed  upon 
the  rail  and  the  track  is  jacked  up  until  the  top  of 
this  block  is  on  line  between  the  foreman's  eye  and 
the  division  line  on  the  spot  board.  If  the  track  is 
straight  and  there  is  no  super  elevation  to  provide  for, 
both  rails  are  brought  up  in  exactly  the  same  way, 
or  one  rail  can  be  raised  in  this  way  and  the  other 
one  leveled  to  it.  If  on  a  curve,  there  are  two  ways 
of  providing  for  the  elevation  of  the  outer  rail. 

First : — Run  in  one  rail  or  the  other  by  the  method 
described  above  and  use  this  as  a  basis  in  fixing  the 
height  of  the  other  rail  by  means  of  the  cross  level. 

Second: — Have  the  spot  board  set  so  that  the  line 


BALT^STlNa  123 

of  sight  is  eight  inches  above  the  height  selected  for 
the  "high  rail"  and  when  running  the  "high  rail" 
use  the  eight-inch  blocks  just  as  explained  above ;  but 
in  running  the  low  rail  run  adjustable  slide  on  both 
the  sight  and  raising  blocks  down  to  increase  the 
height  of  these  by  the  amount  of  super-elevation  de- 
sired, or  in  other  words  if  you  want  four  inches'  ele- 
vation run  the  slide  down  four  inches  which  makes  the 
block  twelve  inches  high  to  use  on  top  of  the  rail  in- 
stead of  eight,  so  that  the  low  rail  will  be  run  in  just 
four  inches  lower  than  the  high  rail  where  the  plain 
blocks  are  used  without  the  extension  slide.  By  re- 
ferring to  the  lower  part  of  the  figure  the  application 
and  use  of  the  spot  board  on  a  curve  will  be  under- 
stood. Track  with  elevation  can  be  run  in  quite  ac- 
curately by  this  method  but  of  course  not  so  accurately 
as  with  the  cross  level,  which  should  be  used  when 
giving  the  final  raise  and  surface. 

Cleaning  stone  ballast  with  screens.  Stone  ballast 
is  now  generally  cleaned  on  American  railroads  by 
shaking  it  out  with  ballast  forks.  During  the  sum- 
mer of  1912  experiments  were  made  on  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  Railroad  with  screens  for  cleaning  this  type 
of  ballast.  The  experiments  indicate  that  the  use  of 
screens  is  preferable  to  the  use  of  ballast  forks,  both 
on  account  of  better  work  and  lower  cost.  The  type 
of  screen  and  the  method  and  cost  of  using  it  for 
cleaning  stone  ballast,  were  described  by  Mr.  W.  I. 
Trench,  Division  Engineer  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad,  in  an  appendix  to  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ballast  of  the  American  Railway  Engineer- 
ing Association.  The  information  here  given  is  taken 
from  Mr.  Trench's  description  as  published  in  the 
Bulletin  of  the  Association  for  February,  1913. 

In  approaching  the  problem  of  cleaning  ballast  by 
means  of  screens,  it  was  recognized  that  the  present 
methods    involved    one    of   the    most    expensive    and 


124  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

tedious  operations  occurring  in  railway  maintenance 
and  that  for  this  reason  the  periodical  cleanings  are 
often  deferred  much  longer  than  good  practice  would 
seem  to  demand.  It  was  felt  that  if  a  screen  could 
be  designed  which  would  make  a  proper  separation  of 
stone  and  dirt  and  at  the  same  time  dispose  of  these 
two  materials  in  a  way  to  avoid  further  handling,  with 
a  single  cast  of  the  shovel  instead  of  the  repeated  sift- 
ing motion  and  the  further  shoveling  of  the  dirt  in 
its  disposal  as  required  by  the  fork,  an  enormous  sav- 
ing could  be  made. 

It  was  believed  that  to  be  practicable  this  screen 
must  be  as  cheap  as  was  commensurate  with  durabil- 
ity, easily  portable,  and  so  related  in  position  to  the 
track  when  in  use  as^  to  make  its  removal  unnecessary 
on  the  passage  of  trains.  Its  operation  must  be  pro- 
gressive along  the  track  and  complete,  working  toward 
the  dirty  ballast  and  leaving  the  clean  ballast  behind 
it  in  such  shape  as  to  require  no  further  handling. 
Its  capacity  must  be  limited  only  hy  the  speed  with 
which  the  laborers  can  handle  the  shovel  and  it  must 
be  susceptible  to  use  by  a  gang,  so  arranged  that  the 
work  of  every  man  is  continuous  and  unchanging  and 
so  proportioned  that  no  man's  work  is  dependent  on 
the  progress  made  by  another ;  that  is,  there  should  be 
no  halts.  It  is  believed  that  these  results  have  been 
secured  in  the  screen  to  be  described  and  that  its  use, 
by  a  properly  organized  gang,  will  result  in  such  a 
saving  as  to  make  the  further  general  use  of  the  fork 
method  improbable. 

Experiments  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  were 
made  on  a  portion  of  its  double  track  line,  and  it  was 
found  that  the  most  efficient  gang  for  this  condition 
was  one  of  twelve  men  equipped  with  three  screens. 
There  is  a  screen  for  each  berm  and  one  for  the  cen- 
ter ditch.  The  construction  of  all  three  is  identical, 
there  being  interchangeable  legs  for  use  on  the  berm. 


BALLASTING  125 

and  in  the  center  ditch.  The  legs  for  use  on  the  berm 
are  so  designed  that  the  screen  rides  on  the  ends  of 
the  ties  outside  the  rail  at  such  a  distance  from  the 
track  as  not  to  interfere  with  traffic,  and  at  the  same 
time  deposits  the  cleaned  stone  on  the  berm  in  final 
position.  It  stands  at  such  an  elevation  that  the  dirt 
is  deposited  directly  into  a  wheelbarrow  standing  on 
subgrade.  The  legs  for  use  in  the  center  ditch  are 
designed  to  ride  on  the  cleaned  subgrade  as  the  screen 
is  slid  along  and  are  of  such  a  height  that  the  dirt 
is  deposited  in  a  handbarrow,  which  is  placed  beneath 
the  screen,  and  the  clean  stone  is  left  in  the  center 
ditch  in  final  position.  The  upper  end  of  the  screen 
is  carried  on  supports  which  are  readily  adjustable 
in  height  to  accommodate  it  for  use  in  the  center  ditch 
or  on  the  berm  in  either  cut  or  fill.  When  in  use  in 
the  center  ditch,  the  screen  is  laid  flat  upon  the  ground 
on  the  passage  of  trains  and  lies  wholly  below  the 
top  of  rail. 

A  short  description  of  the  structural  details  will  be 
made  so  that  a  better  understanding  will  be  had  of 
the  method  of  operation  to  follow.  The  screen  frame 
is  constructed  of  standard  2-in.  x  3-in.  x  l^/^-in.  angle 
iron  set  up  so  that  tlie  short  leg  turns  out,  the  long 
leg  forming  the  vertical  sides  of  the  screen.  The 
screen  proper  is  formed  of  i/4-in.  rods,  crimped  to- 
gether, giving  a  mesh  %  in.  x  8  ins.  It  was  found 
with  this  mesh  and  with  the  screen  inclined  at  45° 
that  the  separation  of  stone  and  dirt  was  perfect  even 
in  damp  weather,  and  this  cannot  always  be  said  of 
the  results  secured  from  forks.  These  crimped  rods 
are  set  in  a  rectangular  steel  frame  made  of  1-in.  x 
i/2-in.  X  Vs-in.  channel  iron,  and  this  frame  is  bolted 
inside  the  main  frame  so  that  the  screen  proper  can 
be  readily  detached,  as  a  whole,  and  sent  to  the  shop 
for  repairs.  The  entire  screen  is  backed  with  a  gal- 
vanized iron  slide  which  is  so  formed  that  it  gathers 


126  THE  TPw\CKjVIAN'S  HELPER 

the  dirt  which  has  come  through  any  part  of  the 
screen  and  deposits  it  in  a  receptacle  set  beneath  by 
means  of  a  spout.  The  spout  is  really  a  hinged  door 
suspended  at  its  outer  end  by  a  chain  and  convenient 
fastening  so  that  its  height  can  be  regulated,  and 
when  the  receptacle  is  removed  for  emptying,  can  be 
closed.  With  this  door  closed  the  screen  will  hold 
about  one  wheelbarrow  load  of  dirt,  so  that  the  opera- 
tion of  the  screen  is  not  stopped  while  dirt  is  being 
dumped.  At  the  top  of  the  screen  is  a  hood  which 
forms  a  deflector  for  the  ballast  thrown  over  the  top, 
the  method  of  operation  in  this  case  being  to  slide  the 
screen  backwards  from  the  cleaned  ballast  towards 
the  uncleaned  ballast,  the  latter  being  thrown  over 
the  top  and  being  left  in  clean  condition  at  the  bot- 
tom. This  hood  w^hen  screen  is  in  use  on  the  berm 
is  thrown  back  and  forms  the  top  against  which  bal- 
last is  thrown  when  in  this  position.  The  screen  con- 
structed as  indicated  is  practically  indestructible  and 
will  support  the  weight  of  a  man  without  impression. 

For  use  with  each  screen  is  provided  a  galvanized 
iron  handbarrow  which  is  so  formed  that  it  fits  ex- 
actly upon  the  horizontal  legs  when  in  use  on  the 
berm,  being  so  placed  after  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
cleaned  ballast  has  been  allowed  to  fall  outside  the 
rail,  that  the  remainder  is  caught  in  the  handbarrow 
and  drawn  across  the  rail  to  be  deposited  in  the  cribs. 
When  in  use  in  the  center  ditch,  the  handbarrow  is 
placed  beneath  to  catch  the  dirt. 

The  cross-section  of  the  finished  work  is  shown  in 
Fig.  22.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  cribs  are  cleaned 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ties,  the  center  ditch  18  ins.  below 
the  top  of  rail  and  the  berm  24  ins.  below  the  top  of 
rail  at  the  end  of  tie  and  sloping  to  3  ft.  below  top  of 
rail  at  back  of  side  ditch.  Every  50  ft.  one  crib  is 
cleaned  to  the  bottom  of  the  center  ditch  on  one  end 
and  to  the  top  of  subgrade  on  the  other,  forming  an 


BALLASTING 


127 


outlet  for  water  collected  in  the  center  ditch.  This 
arrangement  gives  an  absolutely  dry  and  stable  road- 
bed. The  dirt  from  the  ballast,  or  so  much  of  it  as  is 
required,  is  dressed  upon  the  subgrade  outside  the 
ballast  line,  and  in  addition  to  giving  a  neat  black 
appearance  and  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  white  stone 
-ballast,  serves  to  keep  down  weeds  very  effectually. 
What  is  not  required  for  this  purpose  is  used  to  widen 
embankment  along  the  line. 

As  stated  above  for  double  track  work,  three  screens 
are  used.  When  tracks  are  on  fill  on  both  sides,  dirt 
from  each  side  screen  is  disposed  of  on  its  own  side 
of  the  embankment,  and  dirt  from  the  center  ditch  is 
dumped  directly  from  handbarrow  over  bank  on  side 


Fig.  22.     Roadbed   Section  for   Cut  and   Fill,   B.   &  0.   R.   R. 


most  desirable.  When  one  side  is  on  fill  and  other 
side  in  cut,  wheelbarrow  loads  of  dirt  are  wheeled  or 
carried  bodily  from  cut  side  to  fill  side.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  carry  dirt  across  tracks,  care  is  used  to 
keep  the  screen  on  the  side  from  which  it  is  carried  in 
an  advanced  position,  with  reference  to  the  other 
screens,  so  that  dirt  will  be  carried  over  uncleaned 
roadbed  and  not  over  that  which  has  been  cleaned. 
It  will  be  seen  that  dirt  carried  to  the  fill  on  other  side 
of  tracks  from  the  center  screen  passes  over  dirty  bal- 
last before  the  arrival  of  the  screen  to  the  right,  and 
likewise,  dirt  from  the  screen  to  the  left  passes  over 
the  tracks  before  the  arrival  of  either  of  the  other  two 
screens,  the  screens  in  this  case  traveling  from  right 
to  left.    When  tracks  are  in  cut,  on  both  sides,  wheel- 


128  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

barrow  loads  are  wheeled  out  to  the  nearest  end  of 
cut,  the  handbarrow  from  the  screen  in  the  center 
ditch  being  dumped  into  a  wheelbarrow  or  shoveled 
directly  from  pan  to  barrow  standing  across  one  rail, 
dirt  from  side  screens  being  poured  from  screens  di- 
rectly into  wheelbarrow.  It  is  found  that  dirt  can  be 
wheeled  out  of  a  cut  for  a  distance  of  800  ft.  to  1,000 
ft.  at  less  expense  than  would  be  the  case  if  thrown 
upon  the  ground  and  loaded  again  upon  a  work  train 
on  a  busv  railroad. 

' '  The  f ollowins:  2;ang  organization  is  adhered  to : 
For  the  operation  of  three  screens  as  indicated  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  twelve  men  are  sufficient ;  with 
long  hauls  of  dirt,  more  men  to  be  added  for  wheel- 
barrow work,  so  screen  gang  will  be  kept  going.  Of 
the  twelve  men,  two  shovel  from  each  side  of  berm 
onto  their  respective  screens,  two  from  the  center 
ditch  onto  the  center  screen,  and  one  man  in  center 
of  each  track  shoveling  from  the  cribs  onto  the  screen 
most  available;  one  man  with  pick  advances  ahead 
of  shovelers  to  loosen  hardened  ballast  before  their  ar- 
rival. These  are  dispensed  with  if  ballast  is  loosened 
by  means  of  a  plow  attached  to  work  engine.  Long 
stretches  of  ballast  can  be  loosened  in  this  way  in  a 
short  time  by  work  engine ;  enough  to  keep  gang  going 
several  days.  The  remaining  three  men  are  sufficient 
usually  to  handle  wheelbarrows  in  disposal  of  dirt, 
dress  dirt  down  on  berm  and  fork  a  uniform  ballast 
line,  although  if  hand  laid  ballast  line  is  required, 
more  men  would  be  necessarv.  Bv  careful  handling 
of  this  gang,  ballast  and  dirt  are  disposed  of  at  one 
operation  in  their  final  position  and  no  further  at- 
tention is  necessary.  In  most  cases  it  is  found  that 
the  cleaning  of  ballast  so  reduces  its  volume  that  ad- 
ditional stone  is  necessary.  In  this  case  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  stone  from  the  screens  is  so  handled  that 
the  berms  and  center  ditch  are  filled  out  completely, 


BALLASTING  129 

and  any  deficiency  occurs  between  the  rails  where  ad- 
ditional stone  can  be  most  conveniently  distributed 
from  Rodger  ballast  cars  without  further  handling-. 
The  gang  of  twelve  men  costs  per  day:  Foreman, 
$2.40;  11  laborers  at  $1.60,  $17.60;  total,  $20. 

''A  gang  equipped  and  organized  as  above  will  cover 
165  ft.  of  double  track  per  day  of  10  hours,  making 
the  cost  per  mile  of  double  track,  $640.  This,  of 
course,  includes  cleaning  ballast,  dressing  ballast  and 
disposal  of  dirt  complete.  Single  track  work  would 
cost  considerably  less  than  half  this  amount,  as  there 
would  be  no  center  ditch  to  contend  with.  The  ballast 
really  handled  in  this  test  was  considerably  more  than 
the  cross-section,  shown  in  Fig.  22,  would  indicate, 
as  before  cleaning  the  ballast  was  piled  above  rail  in 
center  ditch  and  rounded  high  on  berm.  An  average 
of  227  wheelbarrow  loads  of  dirt  were  removed  pei* 
100  ft.  of  double  track  cleaned. 

"For  comparison  with  the  fork  method,  the  identi- 
cal gang  used  above  was  tried  with  forks  and  advanced 
but  72  ft.  per  day.  This  also  included  the  dressing 
complete  and  disposal  of  dirt,  it  being  necessary  to 
shovel  the  latter  in  wheel  and  handbarrows.  This 
shows  a  cost  per  mile  of  double  track  of  $1466." 

We  see  various  figures  given  from  time  to  time  on 
the  cost  of  cleaning  ballast  per  mile.  Some  of  them 
are  very  much  less  than  the  above,  and  we  can  only 
believe  that  this  is  occasioned  by  omitting  to  include 
the  disposal  of  dirt  and  dressing  road  complete,  or 
on  account  of  cleaning  to  a  less  depth  in  track  than 
indicated  in  Fig.  22,  or  perhaps  a  less  thorough  sepa- 
ration of  stone  and  dirt.  In  many  cases,  a  raise  is 
given  the  track  and  ballast  is  put  under  without  clean- 
ing.    In  the  above  test,  no  raise  was  made. 

''This  screen  weighs  about  325  lbs.,  and  can  be  eas- 
ily propelled  along  the  track  by  the  two  shovelers  at 
work  at  the  respective  screens.    With  the  material 


130  THE  TRACIOLA^s'S  HELPER 

used  in  them  with  careful  handling  and  painting,  they 
should  last  for  years.  The  trial  lot  of  three  made 
with  handbarrows  complete  by  a  Baltimore  firm  cost 
$45  each." 

Both  sides  of  the  track  should  be  raised  and  tamped 
at  the  same  time  when  ballasting  or  taking  out  sags;' 
otherwise,  if  first  one  side  is  raised  and  tamped  and 
the  other  side  afterwards  it  will  have  a  tendency  to 
throw  the  track  out  of  line,  and  there  will  be  a  place 
under  the  side  that  was  first  raised  which  is  not 
tamped.  Do  not  tamp  in  the  center  of  the  track,  as 
this  produces  center-bound  track  and  will  result  in 
broken  ties. 

High  places.  Short  high  points  in  the  track  to  be 
ballasted  should  not  be  raised  at  all  if  they  are  higher 
than  the  surfaced  track,  but  should  be  let  down,  if 
this  requires  less  labor  than  to  surface  up  the  track 
to  the  high  point. 

Uniform  tamping.  The  secret  of  putting  up  good 
smooth  track  that  will  remain  so  for  a  long  time  lies 
in  having  your  men  well  organized,  and  in  getting 
them  to  work  as  nearly  alike  as  possible.  Uniformity 
in  the  work  is  everything.  Where  sand  or  gravel  is 
used,  a  first-class  track  can  be  ballasted  by  having  the 
men  put  the  material  to  place  under  all  the  ties  with 
the  shovel  blade,  tamping  only  the  joint  ties,  and 
picking  up  the  low  places  after  some  trains  have 
passed  over  it. 

A  tie  should  be  tamped  throughout,  so  as  to  fur- 
nish as  solid  a  bearing  as  possible,  but  care  should  be 
taken  that  it  does  not  become  centerbound,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  middle  of  the  tie  so  supported  as  to  cause 
the  track  to  rock.  On  double  track  roads  it  will  assist 
the  general  condition  of  the  track  to  tamp  the  leaving 
side  of  the  tie  harder  than  and  after  the  other,  thus 
forming  a  wedge  and  arresting  any  slight  forward 
movement. 


BALLASTING  131 

Mechanical  tamping.  There  are  several  electric 
and  pneumatic  tamping  machines  on  the  market.  One 
of  these  is  called  the  ''Imperial  pneumatic  tamping 
machine ' '  and  has  materially  reduced  the  cost  of  track 
ballast  and  maintenance.  These  machines  are  oper- 
ated in  pairs,  one  on  each  side  of  the  tie,  the  opera- 
tion of  the  tool  being  a  rapid  hammer  action  on  the 
tamping  bar,  which  in  turn  compacts  the  ballast  and 
forces  it  down  and  under  the  tie,  each  tie  being  tamped 
a  distance  of  about  16  to  18  in.  either  side  of  the  rail. 
Observations  made  on  a  railroad  where  new  track  was 
being  raised  from  2  to  3  in.  on  stone  ballast  showed  an 
average  of  240  ties  tamped  per  nine  hour  day,  at  a 
total  cost  of  2  cents  per  tie.  These  machines  operate 
very  conveniently  in  cramped  quarters,  such  as 
switches,  frogs  and  crossovers,  where  hand  tamping  is 
difficult  and  sometimes  almost  impossible  to  do  well. 

For  operating  these  tampers  an  air  compressor  is 
necessary,  and  is  generally  built  in  the  style  of  a 
gasoline  motor ;  consisting  of  a  vertical  air  compressor 
mounted  on  a  hand  car  with  reservoir  cooling  system 
direct  connected  to  a  gasoline  motor,  accompanied  by 
a  suitable  air  receiver  and  piping.  These  compressor 
cars  are  self-propelled  and  capable  of  transporting  the 
section  gang  to  and  from  its  work.  The  tamping  ma- 
chines are  economical  in  air  consumption  and  may  pos- 
sibly be  operated  from  switch  and  signal  service  air 
lines  without  interfering  with  the  operation  of  sig- 
nals, etc.  They  handle  stone,  cinder  or  other  ballast 
with  equal  effectiveness. 

The  New  York  Central  Railroad  made  some  experi- 
ments in  1914  with  tamping  machines,  where  ties 
were  being  spaced  and  the  track  lifted  from  2  to  4  in. 
by  the  action  of  the  machines.  One  of  the  tests  con- 
sisted of  spacing  ties  under  new  rails,  raising  the 
track  on  stone  and  doing  the  work  of  the  section  gang. 
Another  test  was  for  regular  section  work,  spacing 


132  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

ties  and  surfacing  the  track.  Still  another  test  was 
done  by  a  main  line  section  gang  using  the  mechanical 
tamping  outfit  after  the  track  had  been  raised  12  in. 
on  stone  by  a  special  gang.  The  time  necessary  for 
the  work  increased  with  the  thickness  of  the  layer  of 
ballast.  A  lift  of  from  2  to  4  in.  required  2  min.  for 
two  machines.     Ordinarily  it  required  2  min.  for  a  tie. 

The  final  conclusions  from  the  tests  were  as  fol- 
lows : — 

(1)  Mechanical  tampers  can  raise  track;  (2)  Less 
settling  was  observed  when  the  tampers  were  used 
than  by  hand  work;  (3)  The  settling  of  track  was 
more  uniform;  (4)  Machine  tamped  track  is  more 
permanent.  The  only  difficulty  encountered  in  using 
the  machines  was  the  breaking  of  their  parts. 

In  air  operated  tampers  the  work  was  satisfactorily 
done  at  distances  of  600  ft.  and  also  at  50  ft.,  the 
cost  of  the  apparatus  being  reasonable.  One  com- 
plete unit  of  three  tampers,  600  ft.  of  hose  and  com- 
pressor mounted  on  a  car  cost  about  $1800. 

A  self-propelled  compressor  car  was  equipped  with 
clutch,  sprocket  and  chain  for  driving  one  pair  of 
w^heels,  and  the  car  could  be  moved  at  12  to  15  miles 
per  hour.  It  had  a  deck  9  ft.  by  5  ft.  5  in.  and  could 
easily  hold  twelve  men;  weighed  2180  lbs.,  gasoline 
and  water  145  lbs.,  and  the  hose  and  tampers  170  lbs. ; 
total  weight  2495  lbs. 

In  the  first  test  with  an  average  of  26  ties  per  hour 
a  raise  of  from  2  to  4  in.  was  accomplished  by  machine 
work.  One  mile  of  track  done  in  13i/i  davs,  includ- 
ing 3200  ties,  cost  $86.40,  compared  w^ith  $282.60  by 
hand. 

In  the  second  test  the  hand  work  required  9  days 
for  a  mile  of  track  and  cost  $550.80,  while  the  machine 
did  it  in  13  days  at  a  cost  of  $417.69. 

The  general  result  of  the  tests  was  that  the  machines 
would   accomplish    the    same    work   at    considerably 


BALLASTING  133 

lower  cost  than  the  hand  work  and  with  more  perma- 
ment  results.  ' '  Two  men  equipped  with  a  pneumatic 
tamper  can  tamp  more  ties  than  eight  or  ten  men 
using  picks  and  bars." 

A  stability  test  was  made  on  a  stretch  of  track  1600 
ft.  long  across  the  Hacken^ack  Meadows  in  1913. 
' '  Half  of  the  test  section  was  tamped  by  the  usual  hand 
methods  and  half  by  the  pneumatic  tamper.  At  this 
point,  owing  to  yielding  foundation,  it  is  difficult  to 
maintain  the  track  in  proper  surface.  After  six 
months  of  service  under  heavy  traffic  the  maximum 
settlement  of  hand  tamped  ties  was  .116  ft.  and  of  the 
machine  tamped  .063.  The  corresponding  minimum 
figures  were  .018  and  .004,  and  the  figures  for  average 
settlement  were  .067  for  hand  and  .033  for  machine 
tamped  ties  respectively.  A  year's  cost  record  for 
one  pneumatic  tamper  showed  an  average  cost  per  tie 
tamped  of  $0,026." 

The  proper  size  of  tamping  face  for  different 
kinds  of  ballast.  Mr.  H.  L.  Hicks  states  that  in 
crushed  stone  ballast  which  is  2"  or  more  in  size,  a  bar 
with  a  face  3"  by  %"  gives  the  best  satisfaction ;  and 
he  recommends  a  tamping  face  of  3"  by  %"  for  smaller 
stone  or  gravel,  and  a  tamping  face  of  3"  by  1%"  for 
tamping  sand,  dirt,  or  cinders. 

A  day's  work.  A  little  judgment  will  enable  any 
foreman  to  so  arrange  the  work  that,  when  he  and  his 
men  finish  in  the  evening  the  track  where  they  were 
working  will  be  in  good  shape  and  will  remain  safe 
for  several  days  if  necessary.  It  is  very  important 
that  all  track  should  be  filled  in  and  dressed  up  as  fast 
as  it  is  surfaced  in  order  to  preserve  a  good  line  on 
the  rails.  Track  which  is  not  filled  between  the  ties 
will  not  stay  in  line. 

Ballast  in  cuts.  Only  the  cleanest  of  gravel  ballast 
should  be  unloaded  in  cuts  for  ballast.  Where  it  is 
necessary  (in  order  to  get  rid  of  them  in  the  pit)  to 


134  THE  TRACK^IAN'S  HELPER 

haul  out  on  the  track,  together  with  the  gravel,  large 
stones,  grass,  sods,  etc.,  they  should  always  be  dumped 
on  an  embankment  where  they  will  assist  in  strength- 
ening the  fill. 

Have  the  track  ready.  AVhen  ballasting  track  or 
raising  it  to  surface,  the  foreman  should  so  arrange 
his  work  that  the  track  can  at  all  times  be  readily 
adjusted  for  the  safe  passage  of  trains.  He  should 
make  a  *' run-off"  at  the  last  rail  of  the  track  raised, 
and  the  outer  ends  of  ties  at  least  should  be  tamped 
up  before  a  train  is  allowed  to  pass  over  it.  The 
length  of  the  "run-off"  should  be  in  proportion  to  the 
height  to  which  the  track  is  raised.  Never  make  a 
"run-oft"'  too  short;  it  is  better  to  flag  a  train  and 
hold  it  until  vou  are  readv  than  to  risk  surface- 
bending  the  rails,  or  wrecking  the  train.  Foremen 
ballasting  track  should  always  protect  themselves 
against  all  trains  by  keeping  a  flag  out  against  them. 

High  raising.  When  track  is  raised  more  than  six 
inches  high  in  order  to  put  ballast  under  it  out  of  a 
face  the  foremen  employed  on  the  work  should  be 
thoroughly  competent  and  reliable.  One  foreman 
should  work  the  larger  part  of  the  surfacing  gang, 
and  with  them  lift  the  track,  tamp  the  ties,  and  do  a 
part  of  the  fllling,  leaving  the  track  behind  him  with 
a  true  surface,  level,  and  in  good  line.  Working  some 
distance  behind  the  first  gang  another  foreman  with  a 
smaller  crew  of  men  should  do  the  finishing  work. 
He  should  be  several  days  behind  the  first  gang,  so 
that  any  poor  tamping  or  weak  places  may  be  fully 
developed.  He  should  carry,  besides  his  other  tools, 
a  full  set  of  tamping  bars,  and  should  raise  up  all 
depressions  in  the  surface  of  the  track  made  by  trains 
which  passed  over  it  after  the  first  gang  left  it.  Every 
piece  of  track  taken  up  to  surface  by  the  second  gang, 
should  be  tamped  solid  with  tamping  bars  or  picks. 

The  rails  should  be  lined  true^  the  balance  of  the 


BALLASTING  135 

gravel  filled  in,  and  the  sides  and  center  of  the  track 
dressed  up,  all  surplus  ballast  being  moved  to  points 
along  the  line  where  it  is  needed  to  make  the  shoulder 
of  uniform  width. 

Gravel  for  one  mile  of  track.  Allowing  an  average 
of  36  ft.  for  each  car  length,  including  the  space  be- 
tween the  cars,  one  hundred  and  fifty  cars  of  gravel 
will  reach  over  one  mile  of  track.  If  this  amount  of 
gravel  be  unloaded  by  hand,  or  plowed  ofi^  from  the 
cars,  which  is  a  better  way,  and  if  the  trains  average 
about  eight  yards  of  gravel  to  the  car,  there  will  be 
gravel  ballast  deposited  along  the  track  equal  to  six 
inches  in  thickness,  twelve  feet  wide  on  top,  and 
twelve  feet  six  inches  wide  at  the  bottom,  for  the  en- 
tire length  of  one  mile  of  track.  Deduct  from  the 
above  amount  of  gravel  about  one-half  for  filling  be- 
tween the  track  ties  and  for  dressing  the  center  of  the 
track  after  it  has  been  surfaced  up,  and  there  is  still 
left  a  balance  of  about  three  inches  in  thickness  to  be 
put  under  the  bottoms  of  the  track  ties. 

It  is  now  customary  for  large  roads  to  use  coal  cars 
for  handling  ballast,  averaging  about  35  cubic  yds. 
per  car,  with  over  all  length  of  40  ft. 

Where  the  sub-grade  is  well  drained  and  solid,  a 
first-class  track  can  be  made  by  ballasting  with  half  a 
cubic  yard  per  lineal  foot  of  track.  The  embankment 
should  not  be  less  than  fourteen  feet  wide  on  top,  and 
should  be  made  sixteen  feet  wide,  if  possible,  before 
putting  on  the  gravel,  to  prevent  the  ballast  from 
being  wasted  by  running  down  the  bank. 

Level  track  in  yards.  The  tracks  in  all  yards 
should  be  surfaced  level  throughout  their  entire 
length,  and  all  tracks  running  parallel  with  each  other 
should  be  of  the  same  height  when  it  is  possible 
to  have  them  so.  When  tracks  have  once  been  put  to 
a  uniformly  level  surface,  no  part  of  them  should 
be  raised  again  higher  than  the  rest  of  the  yard  un- 


136  THE  TRACKIMAN'S  HELPER 

less  it  is  intended  to  raise  the  level  of  the  whole  yard. 

Many  inexperienced  foremen  in  charge  of  yards 
think  it  is  necessary  every  time  they  repair  track  to 
surface  it  a  little  higher  than  it  was  before,  which  is  a 
harmful  and  senseless  policy  and  should  not  be  toler- 
ated. 

How  to  level  yard  tracks.  A  simple  method  by 
which  to  get  tracks  that  run  parallel  to  each  other  to 
the  same  height  is  as  follows: 

First,  put  up  the  main  track  properly,  then  use  a 
straight  edge  from  the  nearest  rail  of  the  adjoining 
track  in  order  to  raise  it  to  a  level  with  the  main 
track.  You  can  then  move  to  a  point  several  rails 
ahead  on  the  main  track  and  repeat  the  operation. 
After  this  you  can  raise  the  track  on  the  siding  be- 
tween the  two  points  which  you  have  made  level  with 
the  main  track. 

Rule : — Run  the  level  and  a  straight  edge  on  the 
top  of  two  or  three  stakes  located  parallel  with  the 
track  to  be  leveled,  and  do  the  same  at  a  place  some 
distance  from  that  point.  Then  sight  over  the  tops  of 
the  stakes  at  both  points,  and  have  a  man  drive  stakes 
between  the  two  places  where  you  have  leveled,  until 
the  stakes  which  he  has  driven  are  at  the  same  height  as 
those  you  have  leveled  with  the  level  and  straight 
edge.  The  top  level  of  the  stakes  will  be  the  level  of 
the  track  rails.  In  important  yards  the  company's 
engineers  generally  give  level  stakes  for  all  tracks. 

Gravel  pits.  A  few  words  about  the  gravel  pit  will 
not  be  out  of  place  in  this  book. 

On  roads  where  stone,  or  other  satisfactorv  ballast 
is  scarce,  or  cannot  be  procured,  a  gravel  pit  along  the 
line  is  very  desirable.  There  are  very  few  roads  that 
cannot  find  at  least  one  or  two  gravel  pits  along  a 
division. 

After  the  gravel  pit  has  been  purchased,  and  when 
the  work  of  removing  material  is  about  to  commence, 


BALLASTING  137 

the  foreman  in  charge  should  thoroughly  examine  the 
lay  of  the  land  and  decide  how  his  track  must  be  laid 
to  get  the  deepest  face  of  gravel  to  work  on.  Of 
course,  at  the  same  time,  the  best  location  for  the 
track  must  be  arranged  for  the  accommodation  of 
trains,  and  this  should  be  done  with  a  view  to  future 
improvements. 

The  track  should  always  be  longer  than  the  face  of 
the  gravel  in  the  pit,  so  that  one,  ten,  or  any  number 
of  cars  can  be  loaded  without  danger  of  spoiling  the 
line  of  the  pit  face.  This  is  very  important,  because 
where  a  short  track  is  put  in  on  account  of  a  handy 
place  to  put  in  the  switch,  or  for  the  reason  that  there 
is  not  much  gravel  needed  at  that  time,  the  face  of  the 
pit  contracts  and  becomes  so  short  that  the  loading 
place  is  like  a  sink  hole  in  the  ground,  and  it  soon  be- 
comes difficult  for  an  engine  to  pull  out  of  the  pit 
more  than  two  or  three  cars  at  a  time,  making  neces- 
sarv  six  or  seven  switches  to  do  what  could  be  done 
by  one  with  a  good  track.  Besides  this  there  are 
other  reasons  why  a  short  track  should  not  be  used. 
The  men  loading  the  gravel  keep  lining  the  track  over 
as  the  bank  recedes  and  there  is  soon  a  heavy  curve 
in  the  track  which  follows  around  the  edge  of  the 
excavation,  so  that  it  is  only  a  short  time  until  the 
track  has  to  be  torn  up  and  the  work  all  done  over 
again.  At  this  time  the  loss  occasioned  by  gouging  a 
hole  in  the  bank  is  discovered.  If  the  track  is  then  laid 
along  the  face  of  the  pit,  cars  can  be  loaded  only  at 
either  end  of  the  pit,  and  there  is  loss  of  time  from 
placing  them,  switching,  etc.,  and  perhaps  the  two 
ends  of  the  pit  next  the  track  are  not  long  enough  to- 
gether to  allow  a  full  train  of  gravel  to  be  loaded  at 
once,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it  except  to  work  at  the 
ends,  until  the  gravel  can  be  reached  all  along  the 
track. 

Another  argument  in  favor  of  a  longer  track  is  that 


138  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

the  face  of  the  gravel  can  be  increased  in  depth  by 
lowering  the  track. 

Foremen  in  charge  of  loading  gravel  should  see 
that  the  men  load  in  one  place  until  there  is  a  space 
on  that  side  of  the  track  at  least  two  or  three  feet 
lower  than  the  ties  and  wide  enough  to  let  the  track 
into  it.  It  should  then  be  lined  over,  enabling  the  men 
to  load  on  each  side  of  the  cars.  Every  foot  that 
the  face  of  gravel  can  be  deepened  makes  the  cost  of 
loading  it  less,  and  reduces  the  proportion  of  top  soil 
which  mixes  with  the  gravel. 

A  steam  shovel  or  locomotive  crane,  with  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  coal  or  ballast  cars,  is  the  best  equip- 
ment to  use  for  economically  getting  out  gravel  from 
the  pit. 

Ballast  gang.  A  gang  of  fortj^  men  organized  as 
follows  may  be  used  to  advantage  in  ballasting  track. 

Number 

Foreman    1 

Assistant  Foreman,  sighting  track    1 

Assistant  Foreman,  track  tampers  1 

Flagmen,  to  furnish  protection  in  either  direction 2 

Laborers,  digging  jack  holes   1  or  2 

Laborers,  operating   jacks    4 

Laborers,  tamping   at   jacks    4 

Laborers,  holding  ties  tight  to  rail   2 

Laborers,  driving  spikes  home    2 

Laborers,  back    tampers    16 

Laborers,  partially  filling  and  dressing  track 4 

\Yater  carrier,  supplying  force  with  drinking  water ....  1 

Total    40 

Note:  When  not  raising  track  on  account  of  in- 
terference with  traffic  or  otherwise,  the  time  is  to  be 
employed  in  finishing  the  dressing  of  track  and  lining 
the  ballast ;  also  in  cleaning  out  and  preparing  track 
ahead  for  ballast. 

Depth  of  ballast.  The  height  to  which  track  is  to 
be  raised  should  be  fixed  by  the  engineers.     The  fol- 


BALLASTING 


139 


lowing  figure  represents  a  good  cross  section  for  sin- 
gle track  roadbed  together  with  the  diagrams  for 
broken  stone  and  gravel  ballast. 


I9'-0" 


9-fe" 


9-6" 


^^51. 


'  '-*"4-"  Crown. 

BROKEN    STONE.       TANGENT. 


4^. 


*i 


9-fe" 


9-fe" 


,1-52    .       A-'-Zz       .,2-/U  ;  2-44 


A'-aVto  6-24"    11^ 


-4- "Crown 

Greatest  elevation  figured  on  is  6" 
BROKEN    STONE.        CURVE. 

9'0" 


t-^-4- Crown 

GRAVEL.      TANGENT. 

19^0" 


_aie_ 


I 


9'-fe" 


/°...  "        7^^ TT *r- 


2*-5i' 


Greatest  elevation  figured  on  is  6" 
GRAVEL.  CURVE. 


Fig.  23.     Roadbed  Sections 


140  THE  TPuACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Tamping".  In  gravel,  granulated  slag  and  cinder 
ballast,  tamping  picks  should  be  used  only  at  joint 
ties,  shovels  at  all  others.  AVith  broken  stone  ballast 
all  ties  should  be  tamped  with  picks  from  the  ends  to 
a  point  twelve  inches  inside  the  rail,  centers  of  ties 
to  be  lightly  filled  in  by  use  of  ballast  forks.  After 
the  first  raising  about  one  week  should  elapse  for  ties 
to  secure  a  good  bearing  and  then  the  final  surface 
should  be  given.  In  resurfacing  joint  ties  they  should 
be  tamped  hard  on  the  joint  end,  easing  off  towards 
the  center. 

Tools  and  methods  for  tamping  recommended  by 
the  American  Railway  Engineering  Association: — 

Earth  or  clay  ballast :  Tools:  Shovel  equipped 
with  iron  cuff'  or  handle  for  tamping;  broad  pointed 
tamping  bars. 

Method:  Tamp  each  tie  from  18  inches  inside  of 
the  rail  to  end  of  tie  with  handle  of  shovel  or  tamping 
bar.  If  possible,  tamp  the  end  of  the  tie  outside  of 
rail  first  and  let  train  pass  over  before  tamping  in- 
side of  rail :  give  special  attention  to  tamping  under 
the  rail ;  tamp  center  of  ties  loosely  with  the  blade 
of  the  shovel ;  the  dirt  or  clay  between  the  ties  should 
be  placed  in  layers  and  firmly  packed  with  feet  or 
otherwise,  so  that  it  will  quickly  shed  the  water;  the 
earth  should  not  be  banked  above  the  bottom  of  the 
ends  of  the  ties;  the  filling  between  the  ties  should 
not  touch  the  rail  and  should  be  as  high  as,  or  higher 
than,  the  top  of  the  ties  in  the  middle  of  the  track. 

Cinder  ballast  {railroad  product) :  Tools:  Shovel, 
tamping  bar  or  tamping  pick. 

Alethod:     Same  as  for  gravel. 

Burnt  clay  ballast:  Tools:  Shovel  only  in  soft 
material.  AYhen  burnt  \ery  hard,  tamping  pick  or 
bar  should  be  used. 

Method:  Tamp  15  inches  inside  of  rail  to  end  of 
tie,  tamping  end  of  tie  first,  letting  train  pass  before 


BALLASTING  141 

tamping  inside  of  rail ;  tamp  center  loosely ;  tamp 
well  between  the  ties ;  dress  ballast  same  as  for  earth 
or  cinders. 

Broken  stone  or  furnace  slag:  Tools:  Shovel, 
tamping  pick,  stone  fork. 

Method:  Tamp  15  inches  inside  of  rail  to  end  of 
tie ;  if  possible  tamp  the  end  of  the  tie  outside  of  rail 
first  and  allow  train  to  pass  over  before  tamping  in- 
side of  rail;  tamp  well  under  the  rail;  tamp  well  un- 
der ties  from  end  of  same ;  do  not  tamp  center  of  tie ; 
fill  in  between  ties  to  height  of  top  of  tie ;  bank  bal- 
last into  shoulder  about  the  end  of  the  ties  level  with 
top  of  tie. 

Chats,  gravel  or  chert  ballast:  Tools:  Shovel, 
tamping  pick  or  tamping  bar.  For  light  traffic, 
shovel  tamping  is  sufficient.  For  heavy  traffic,  the 
tamping  pick  or  tamping  bar  should  be  used.  The 
tamping  bar  is  recommended  instead  of  the  tamping 
pick  for  ordinary  practice. 

Method :  Tamp  solid  from  a  point  15  inches  inside 
of  rail  to  the  end  of  the  tie ;  if  possible,  tamp  the 
end  of  the  tie  outside  of  the  rail  first  and  allow  train 
to  pass  over  before  tamping  inside  of  rail ;  care  should 
be  taken  not  to  disturb  the  old  bed.  Tie  should  be 
tamped  solidly  from  the  end,  using  the  pick  or  tamp- 
ing bar.  After  train  has  passed,  the  center  of  the 
tie  should  be  loosely  tamped  with  the  blade  of  the 
shovel;  dress  same  as  stone  ballast. 

General:  When  not  surfacing  out  of  face,  as  in 
the  case  of  picking  up  low  joints  or  other  low  places, 
the  general  level  of  the  track  should  not  be  disturbed. 
Where  the  rails  are  out  of  level,  but  where  the  differ- 
ence in  elevation  is  not  excessive  and  is  uniform  over 
long  stretches  of  track,  a  difference  in  elevation  be- 
tween the  two  rails  of  %  inch  may  be  permitted  to 
continue  until  such  time  as  the  track  would  ordinarily 
be  surfaced  out  of  face. 


VIII 

RENEWAL   OF   RAILS<# 

The  weight  of  steel  rails  in  main  tracks  on  rail- 
roads in  this  country  varies  from  sixty  pounds  to  one 
hundred  and  forty  pounds  per  yard  and  although 
there  may  be  some  of  the  iron  rail  of  lighter  weights 
in  use  it  is  fast  becoming  obsolete.  The  introduction 
of  heavier  power  and  increased  wheel  loads  on  all 
classes  of  equipment  in  recent  years  has  also  increased 
the  necessity  for  more  substantial  track  and  this  has 
been  secured  by  the  increased  use  of  stone  ballast, 
ties  of  better  grade,  and  heavier  rail.  The  weight  of 
rail  varies  with  the  requirements  of  the  traffic  of  the 
particular  lines  as  to  speed  of  trains,  weight  of  cars 
and  engines,  density  of  traffic,  or  a  combination  of 
these.  The  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  rule  is  that 
each  10  lbs.  weight  per  yard  of  ordinary  steel  rail, 
properly  supported  by  cross  ties,  is  capable  of  sus- 
taining a  safe  load  per  wheel  of  2240  lbs.  This  rule 
calls  for  a  rail  heavier  than  the  average  used  on  roads 
possessing  very  large  locomotives.  On  the  other  hand 
rail  calculated  by  this  rule  would  not  be  economical 
on  roads  using  small  contractors'  locomotives;  a 
larger  rail  being  required. 

The  gross  tons  of  rails  required  for  one  mile  of 
track  is  exactly  found  by  multiplying  the  weights  per 
yard  by  11  and  dividing  by  7.  An  allowance  of  about 
2%  should  be  made  for  cutting. 

As  a  general  thing  railroads  that  up  to  six  or  eight 

142 


RENEWAL  OF  RAILS  143 

years  ago  had  80,  85  and  90  lb.  rails  for  main  track 
service,  are  now  supplanting  these  very  rapidly  with 
100  lb.,  105  lb.,  125  lb.,  and  as  high  as  135  lb.  metal. 
The  American  Railway  Engineering  Association  has 
adopted  as  standards  for  use  sections  of  rail  from  90 
lbs.  to  140  lbs.,  varying  frotai  each  other  by  10 
lbs. 

The  roads  are  now  buying  new  rail  only  of  the 
heaviest  types  and  sections  suitable  for  use  on  their 
most  important  and  high  speed  tracks,  the  rails  re- 
leased by  the  installation  of  these  being  sorted  out 
and  the  best  of  them  used  for  so  called  ''main  track 
patching";  the  next  grade,  or  rails  not  required  for 
such  use,  are  put  on  slow  speed  freight  tracks  or  main 
track  of  branch  lines,  where  traffic  is  lighter  and 
schedules  slower.  Still  another  class  of  steel  is  used 
in  side  tracks  and  yards.  Those  rails  not  suitable  for 
any  of  the  above  purposes  are  sold  for  scrap. 

Nothing  improves  the  physical  condition  and  rid- 
ing qualities  of  a  piece  of  track  more  than  new  rail. 
It  is  one  of  the  principal  items  of  expense  on  main- 
tenance and  should  have  the  attention  that  its  im- 
portance deserves  as  to  care  in  laying  and  surfacing 
and  afterwards  the  tightening  of  bolts  in  order  that 
the  maximum  life  may  be  secured.  If  rail  be  not 
kept  in  good  surface  after  having  been  laid  it  soon 
becomes  battered  at  the  joints  and  kinked,  the  condi- 
tion of  the  ballast  of  course  having  a  great  deal  to 
do  with  the  standard  of  excellence  of  line  and  surface 
that  can  be  maintained. 

Life  of  steel  rail.  The  life  of  rail  in  main  tracks 
varies  from  one  to  fifteen  years  or  more,  depending 
on  the  quality,  the  traffic  and  the  location,  whether 
on  tangent  or  curve. 

On  tangent  track  the  wear  of  the  two  rails  is  ordi- 
narily the  same,  but  on  curve  track  the  wear  on  one 
rail  is  generally  more  than  on  the  other.     If  there  are 


144  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

more  slow  speed  trains  than  high  speed  the  greater 
part  of  the  load  will  be  supported  by  the  inside  or 
low  rail  of  the  curve,  and  the  low  rail  will  be  worn 
thin,  whereas  if  there  is  an  excess  of  high  speed  trains 
the  outside  or  high  rail  in  addition  to  becoming  top 
or  surface  worn  becomes  flange  or  side  worn. 

Laying  new  rail  must  be  done  with  as  little  inter- 
ference to  traffic  as  possible,  and  to  accomplish  it  the 
time  of  the  day  when  there  is  the  longest  period  be- 
tween the  passage  of  trains  should  be  selected.  The 
new  rails  should  be  set  up  along  the  ends  of  the  ties 
opposite  where  they  are  to  go  but  without  being 
coupled  together,  otherwise  there  is  liability  of  spoil- 
ing the  expansion.  It  is  sometimes  permissible  to 
slide  the  rail  in  by  long  strings  coupled  together  when 
relaying  on  tangents,  but  when  relaying  on  curves 
rails  should  always  be  laid  one  at  a  time.  The  rail 
gang  can  utilize  all  the  time  to  advantage,  and  when 
not  engaged  in  actually  changing  rails  on  account  of 
trains  that  are  due  the  time  can  be  profitably  spent 
in  uncoupling  old  rails  or  placing  rails  for  applica- 
tion when  opportunity  offers.  The  adzing  work 
should  be  done  as  far  as  possible,  and  as  many  spikes 
and  bolts  removed  or  started  in  advance  of  the  time 
when  the  track  can  be  secured  as  can  be  safely  spared. 
Full  preparation  should  be  made  and  everything  pos- 
sible attended  to  before  the  integrity  of  the  track  is 
disturbed,  so  that  when  the  track  is  opened  the  work 
can  be  rushed  in  every  possible  way. 

Rail  laying  gang.  When  relaying  rail  a  gang  of 
forty  men  may  be  employed  to  advantage,  organized 
as  follows: 

Force  required  for  laying  single  rail. 

Number 
of  men 

Foreman 1 

Assistant  Foremen   2 


RENEWAL  OF  RAILS  145 

Number 
of  men 

Flagmen — ^To  furnish  protection  in  either  direction ....  2 
Spike  Pullers — Pull  all  spikes  on  one  side  to  permit  old 

rail  to  be  removed  4 

Rail  Removers — Carry  lining  bars  and  throw  out  old  rail  2 

Adzers — Do  all  necessary  adzing  and  plug  old  spik'e  holes  6 

Tongmen — Place  new  rail  in  position 8 

Bolters — ^Apply  new  joints  and  tighten  bolts 8 

Shimmen — Clean   seat  for  new  rail    1 

Carry   shim   box  with   thermometer   and   place   proper 

shim  for  expansion    1 

Spikers — Spike  new  rail  in  position    4 

Water  Carrier — Supplies  force  with  drinking  water 1 

Total    40 

For  relaying  both  rails  at  the  same  time  the  above 
force  should  be  duplicated  with  the  exception  of  the 
flagmen. 

When  laying  two  lines  of  rail  one  line  should  not 
be  laid  until  the  first  has  been  laid  far  enough  ahead 
to  furnish  line  side  for  spiking. 

Gaging.  When  the  proper  gage  can  be  maintained 
draw  spikes  on  the  inside  of  rail;  when  rail  wear  or 
change  in  design  of  rail  affects  the  gage,  pull  spikes 
on  the  inside  of  one  rail  and  the  outside  of  the  other, 
and  where  necessary  pull  the  two  inside  lines  and  one 
outside  line.  Proper  gage  should  be  made  as  the  new 
rail  is  laid. 

Expansion.  The  usual  length  of  rails  rolled  now 
is  33  ft.,  and  to  secure  the  proper  space  for  expansion 
or  contraction  a  shim  box  with  partitions  to  hold 
shims  of  the  different  sizes  required  in  separate  com- 
partments should  always  be  provided.  Provision 
should  also  be  made  for  carrying  a  thermometer  in 
such  a  way  that  it  will  not  easily  be  broken ;  the  ther- 
mometer should  have  a  tin  or  metal  back  and  the 
temperature  should  be  taken  on  the  rail.  Shims 
should  be  used  of  the  proper  size  to  give  the  space  re- 


146  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

quired  for  the  different  temperatures  as  shown  in  the 
following  table. 

Allowance  for  expansion — 33'  rails. 

Temperature  (Fahrenheit)  Allowance. 

— 20'^to      0°    %6  inch 

0°  to    25°    H 

25°  to    50°    %6       " 

50°  to    75°    1/^ 

75°  to  100°    Vie       " 

At  temperatures  over  100°,  rail  should  be  laid  close  with- 
out bumping. 

To  maintain  the  proper  expansion  the  ties  should 
be  spaced  and  slot  spikes  and  rail  anchors  applied  as 
soon  as  possible  to  avoid  their  becoming  distorted  by 
creeping  rail.  Various  devices  for  preventing  the 
creeping  of  rail  are  described  in  Chapter  IX. 

Closing  up  for  trains.  The  force  employed  as  in- 
dicated for  the  relaying  gang  will  keep  the  work  going 
continuously,  or  until  necessary  to  close  up  the  track 
to  let  trains  over.  When  closing  up,  make  a  good 
substantial  job,  cutting  old  rails  in  preference  to  the 
new  ones.  The  use  of  switch  points  for  this  purpose, 
which  have  been  the  cause  of  many  accidents  in  the 
past,  should  not  be  allowed  at  all.  If  the  rails  being 
laid  are  the  same  length  as  the  ones  removed  it  may 
be  necessary  to  cut  a  very  short  piece  from  a  full 
length  rail  to  make  closure.  It  is  therefore  a  good 
plan  to  carry  two  pieces  of  rail  about  10  ft.  long, 
equipped  with  compromise  joints  if  necessary,  which 
when  laid  in  will ' '  carry  by  "  so  that  a  good  sized  piece 
can  be  cut  from  a  full  rail  to  close  up  properly. 

Rail  sections.  The  following  tables  show  the  sizes 
of  rails  of  different  weights  per  yard  and  certain  in- 
formation relative  to  the  adoption  of  the  different 
types  is  given. 


RENEWAL  OF  RAILS  147 

Table,  Weight  of  Rails. 

Miles  of 
^Y  f  single  track.       Feet  of 

^,  ■    T  Rail  per  mile,  per  1000       single  track 

^  y  r        '       in  Tons  of  2240  lbs.  gross  tons  per  ton 

of  rails,  of  rails 

(No  allowance) 

100  157.14  =157  tons,    320  lbs.           6.36 33.60 

95  149.29  =z  149  "  640  "  6.70 35.37 

90  141.43  =  141  "  960  "             7.07 37.33 

85  133.57  =  133  "  1280  "             7.49 39.53 

80  125.71  =  125  "  1600  "             7.95... 42.00 

77%  121.79  =  121  "  1760  "             8.21 43.35 

75  117.86  =  117  "  1920  "             8.48 44.80 

70  110.00=110  "  000  "             9.09 48.00 

68  106.86=106  "  1920  "             9.36 49.41 

67  105.29  =  105  "  640  "             9.50 50.15 

65  102.14  =  102  "  320  "             9.79 51.69 

60  94.29  =    94  ''  640  "  10.61 56.00 

58  91.14=    91  "  320  "  10.97 57.94 

.56  88.00=    88  "  000  "  11.36 60.00 

55  86.43=    86  "  960  "  11.57 61.09 

50  78.57  =    78  "  1280  "  12.73 67.20 

45  70.71=    70  "  1600  "  14.14 74.67 

40  62.86  =    62  "  1920  "  15.91 84.00 

35  55.00=    55  "  000  "  18.18 96.00 

30  47.14=    47  "  320  "  21.21 112.00 

25  39.29=    39  "  640  "  25.45 134.39 

20  31.43=    31"  "  960  "  31.81 168.00 

16  25.14=    25  "  320  "  39.77 210.00 

12  18.86=    18  "  1920  "  53.03 280.00 

8  12.57=    12  "  1280  "  79.55 420.00 

Rail  sections  used  on  steam  roads. 

(From  "Steel  Rails,  Their  History,  Properties, 
Strength  and  Manufacture,"  by  William  H.  Sellew. 
By  permission  of  D.  Van  Nostrand  Co.) 

The  early  steel  rails  were  naturally  made  to  the 
existing  iron  pattern.  These  were  generally  pear- 
headed  in  order  to  prevent  the  side  of  the  head  from 
breaking  down  and  were  not  adapted  to  fishing  as  the 
design  prevented  the  joint  from  supporting  the  head. 

The  adoption  of  an  improved  section  was  very  slow, 


148  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

and,  as  late  as  1881,  119  patterns  of  steel  rails  of  27 
different  weights  per  yard  were  regularly  manufac- 
tured, and  180  older  patterns  were  still  in  use,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  nearly  300  different  patterns.  This 
great  variety  of  sections  in  use  required  the  mills  to 
keep  a  large  number  of  different  rolls  in  stock,  and 
finally,  to  standardize  the  design  of  the  rail,  the  A.  S. 
C.  E.  section,  Fig.  24- A,  was  presented  to  the  society 
on  August  2,  1893.  These  sections  met  with  favor, 
and  were  adopted  by  many  railroads,  so  that  in  a  few 
years  about  two-thirds  of  the  output  of  the  rail  mills 
conformed  to  this  design. 

While  the  A.  S.  C.  E.  section  was  apparently  well 
adapted  for  the  light-weight  rails  of  65  pounds  and 
75  pounds  in  use  when  it  was  designed,  the  increase 
in  weight  on  railway  wheels  soon  necessitated  a  heavier 
rail,  and  the  manufacturers  of  rails  claimed  that  it 
was  difficult  to  make  these  heavier  rails  of  the  A.  S. 
C.  E.  section  due  to  the  thin  edge  of  the  base. 

Realizing  the  importance  of  the  question,  the  Amer- 
ican Railway  Assn.  appointed  a  special  committee  on 
Standard  Rail  and  Wheel  Sections.  This  committee, 
through  a  subcommittee  on  which  the  manufacturers 
were  represented,  devoted  a  large  amount  of  time  and 
attention  to  the  matter  of  sections  and  specifications 
for  steel  rails  and  presented  a  preliminary  report  to 
the  association,  Oct.  1,  1907. 

Accompanying  the  report  of  the  committee  were 
two  series  of  proposed  standard  sections:  Series 
"A"  designed  to  meet  the  requirements  of  those  who 
advocate  a  rail  with  thin  head  and  a  high  moment  of 
inertia,  and  series  ''B"  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
those  who  think  that  there  should  be  a  narrow,  deep 
head,  with  the  moment  of  inertia  a  secondary  mat- 
ter.    See  Fig.  24,  B  and  C. 

On  June  5,  1907,  a  joint  committee  of  the  Penna. 
R.  R.  system — Mechanical  and  Civil  Engineers  east 


RENEWAL  OE  RAILS  149 

and  west  of  Pittsburgh — was  appointed  to  study  the 
rail  question,  and  on  Sept.  20,  1907,  their  labors  re- 
sulted in  designs  for  85-lb.  and  100-lb.  rail  sections 
(see  24D). 

This  section,  known  as  the  "P.  S."  section,  is  a 
step  farther  away  from  the  ''A"  section.  It  has  a 
still  heavier  head,  a  narrower  base,  and  thicker  flanges 
than  the  "B"  section.  The  radius  of  the  web  is 
smaller,  thus  producing  more  of  a  buttress  where  the 
head  and  web  join. 

The  experience  of  the  Pennsylvania  system  seems  to 
be  that  with  their  heavy  wheel  loads  and  dense  traffic 
more  rails  fail  from  crushing  and  disintegration  of 
the  head,  apparently  due  to  the  pounding  of  the  traf- 
fic, than  from  any  other  one  cause,  and  accordingly 
in  this  section  the  maximum  effort  has  been  made  to 
strengthen  the  rail  in  its  weakest  point. 

The  sections  given  in  Fig.  24,  B,  C,  and  D  of  the 
rails  used  at  the  present  time  show  the  modifications 
which  have  been  made  to  meet  the  criticism  of  the 
manufacturers  in  regard  to  the  faults  in  the  design 
of  the  heavier  A.  S.  C.  E.  sections. 

These  thick  base  sections,  adopted  after  the  studies 
of  1907,  cool  with  less  curvature  than  the  former  thin 
base  types  and  require  less  cold  straightening.  The 
straightening  or  gagging  tends  to  develop  injurious 
strains  in  the  base,  and  there  appears  to  be  a  fewer 
number  of  base  failures  in  the  new  sections  as  com- 
pared with  the  A.  S.  C.  E.  design. 

To  still  further  reduce  the  failures  in  the  base  of 
the  rail.  Dr.  P.  H.  Dudley  has  designed  a  section  for 
use  on  the  New  York  Central  in  which  the  radius  of 
the  fillet  between  the  base  and  the  web  is  increased  to 
one  inch. 

Laying  rail  under  heavy  traffic.  Mr.  W.  F.  Rench 
of  the  P.  R.  R.  recently  published  the  following  ex- 
cellent notes  in  the  Ry.  Age  Gazette : 


STANDARD  TEE  RAIL  SECTIONS 

(by  permission  of  Lefax,  Phila.) 


H— height 
B— base 
Hd-.-head 


,      ^  ^    W— web. 
>-g    \      H     D-depthof 

tALL.  j_  F— &?h 


E — depth   of  base. 
A — held  angle 
A: — base  angle 
S — slope  of  bead 
head    N — center  of  web 


All  dimensioDS  in  inches. 


L;:?: 


5  S  -.,  S 


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152 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


A. 

Standard    Rail    Section    of 

A.  S. 

C.   E.    (adopted   1893.) 

100  lbs.  per  yd. 

Area 

of  Head    4.13  sq.  in.        42% 

t( 

"    Web      2.06   "     "          21% 

14 

"    Base     3.63   "     "          37% 

B.      Standard    Rail    Section    of 
Am.    Ry.    Assn.,    Series    "A"    (rec- 
ommended 1907). 
Area  of  Head     3.64  sq.  in.      36.9% 
"      "   Web       2.29    "     "        23.4% 
"      "   Base      3.91   "    "        39.7% 


Total  9.82  sq.  in.      100% 

Moment  of  Inertia.   43.8 
Section   Modulus,    Head,    14.44 
Section   Modulus,   Base,     16.11 

C.  Standard  Rail  Section  of 
Am.  Ry.  Assn.,  Series  "B"  (rec- 
ommended  1907). 


Area  of  Head 
"      *'  Web 
"      "   Base 


3.95  sq.  in. 
1.89    "     '* 
4.01   "     " 


40.2% 
19.2% 
40.6% 


Total  9.84  sq.  in.    100.0%; 

Moment  of  Inertia.   48.94 
'Section   Modulus,    Head,    15.04 
Section   Modulus,   Base,     17.78 

D.      Standard      "P.      S.'"      Rail 

Section    of    Penna.    R.    R.  System 
(adopted   1907). 

100  lbs.  per  yd. 

Area  of  Head     4.09  sq.  in.  41% 

"      "  Web      1.85   "     "  19% 

"      "   Base      4.03   "    "  40% 


Total  9.85  sq.  in.    100.0% 

Moment  of  Inertia,   41.3 
Section  Modulus,   Head,    13.70 
Section  Modulus,   Base,     15.74 


Total  9.97  sq.  in.       100% 

Moment  of  Inertia,   41.9 
Section   Modulus,    Head,    13.71 
Section   Modulus,   Base,     15.91 


Section 

lbs.  . 
per 

Dimensions 

of  Rails,   in  inches 

Thick- 

(Fig. 24) 

Height 

Width 

ness 

yd. 

Total 

Base 

Web 

Head 

Base 

Head 

of  web 

A.  S.  C.  E.  ' 

1     80 

90 

100 

5 

5%      i 
5% 

7^ 
5%4 
31/^2 

25/s 
255/64 

35/64 

11/2 

11%2 

145/64 

5 

5% 
5% 

21/2       ; 

2%      1 
2%      ; 

•    35,^4 

/j-D 

'      %6 

A.    R.   A. 
Scries  "A" 

80 

90 

100 

51/s 
5%      . 
6 

31/^2 
1 
11/16 

22^32 
3-%2     . 
3% 

17/16 

115/32 

19/16 

4% 
51^ 

51/2 

21/2      , 

1|«  : 

,    33/64 
1      9/16 
1      9/16 

A.    R.    A. 
Series  "B' 

80 

90 

100 

415/16 
517/64 
541/64 

1 

11^2 
1%4 

215/32 

25/s 
255/64 

11%2 
13%4 
145/64 

47/16 

44%4 

5%4 

27/16     , 

29/16 

22%2 

35/64 
1      9/16 
1      9/16 

P.    S.       ; 

85 
100 

51^ 
511/16 

1 

1%2 

21%2 
225/32 

121/!2 
11%6 

45/8   , 

5 

21/2       , 
24%4 

17/^2 
1      9/16 

<  i 


On  lines  of  intensive  operation  where  the  avail- 
able intervals  between  trains  are  never  more  than  25 
mill,  and  where  intervals  as  low  as  12  min.  must  fre- 
quently be  utilized  it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence 
that  the  preliminary  work  be  done  to  the  last  item. 
No  single  operation  that  can  be  completed  before  the 
track  is  broken  must  be  omitted.  The  cutting  of  a 
closing  rail  is  entirely  out  of  the  question  and  this 
must  be  provided  for  beforehand  by  careful  deter- 


RENEWAL  OF  RAILS 


153 


mination  with  the  steel  tape.  The  number  of  rails 
that  can  be  laid  in  a  given  interval  must  be  known 
and  though  this  is  somewhat  variable  it  will  be  found 
close  to  a  rail  a  minute  for  intervals  between  10  and 
25  min. 


fJ 


•5? 


Fig.  24.     Standard    Rail    Sections    for    Steam    Roads 

"The  rails  must  be  as  near  the  place  where  they 
are  to  be  applied  as  possible  and  all  needed  material 
must  be  close  at  hand.  The  distant  flagman  must  be 
trained  to  receive  instantly  the  flag  signal  to  begin 


154  THE  TRACKIVIAN'S  HELPER 

protecting  and  must  respond  just  as  promptly  when 
the  signal  is  given  to  withdraw.  The  need  for  im- 
mediate action  by  each  member  of  the  rail  laying 
force  is  no  less  insistent. 

"There  is  no  item  of  work  wherein  the  matter  of 
detail  is  of  such  importance  as  rail  renewal,  which  of 
necessity  causes  a  break  in  the  track.  A  specific  duty 
is  laid  upon  each  member  of  the  gang  and  remains  for 
every  operation,  so  that  no  further  line-up  is  required. 
Maintenance  rules  generally  require  that  the  rails 
shall  be  laid  one  at  a  time  and  similarly  forbid  the 
withdrawal  of  spikes  or  the  removal  of  bolts  in  ad- 
vance of  the  renewal.  This  severe  but  necessarj^  re- 
striction can  be  met  by  perfect  organization. 

"The  bolts  at  the  joints  to  be  broken  have  washers 
added  until  the  nut  has  just  a  safe  hold.  Two  of  the 
best  workmen  are  assigned  to  each  end  of  the  run  to 
be  relaid.  Ten  men  with  claw  bars  are  delegated  to 
remove  from  the  chosen  side  of  the  rail  the  spikes 
which  have  previously  been  started  to  assure  their  com- 
ing out  readily.  Eight  men  with  lining  bars  push  the 
old  rail  aside,  two  dislodging  it,  one  guiding  it  across 
the  new  rail  and  five  lining  it  away.  Four  men  fol- 
low closely,  two  with  spike  mauls  and  punches  to  drive 
down  the  butts  of  broken  spikes,  one  with  an  adze  and 
one  with  a  stiff  broom  to  sweep  aside  chips  of  wood, 
pieces  of  ballast  and  spikes.  Twelve  men  with  tongs 
put  the  new  rails  in  place  as  fast  as  the  old  are  re- 
moved and  10  men  working  in  pairs  apply  the  splices 
with  half  their  complement  of  bolts.  Two  men  push 
the  rail  under  the  spike  heads  and  spike  the  joints 
and  centers  while  the  10  men  who  were  pulling  spikes 
but  who  are  now  free  spike  the  rail  upon  every  other 
tie.  Four  utility  men  put  the  cut  rail  in  place  and 
look  after  the  compromise  joint  in  case  a  different 
section  is  being  laid.  The  gang  which  threw  out  the 
old  rail  completes  the  full  spiking  and  the  men  with 


RENEWAL  OF  RAILS  155 

the  tongs  assist  in  applying  the  remaining  bolts,  giv- 
ing them  all  as  full  tension  as  possible.  This  force 
of  men  generally  consists  of  two  gangs  and,  in  addi- 
tion to  foreman  and  assistants,  numbers  about  50  men. 
''The  preliminary  work  in  renewals  of  this  charac- 
ter largely  determines  the  efficiency  of  the  gang.  In 
the  event  of  a  different  section  of  rail  being  used  in 
renewal,  the  first  work  upon  the  arrival  of  the  relay- 
ing gang  is  to  remove  the  tie  plates,  the  ties  that  were 
without  tie  plates  being  adzed  down  when  these  are  in 
the  minority  and  those  surfaced  up  that  carried  the 
tie  plates  when  they  are  in  the  minority.  After  this 
is  done  the  detailed  surface  of  the  track  is  given  at- 
tention so  that  the  new  rail  may  lie  upon  as  smooth  a 
bed  as  possible.  The  ties  must  then  be  adzed  to  a 
level  seat  alongside  the  rail.  The  point  of  beginning 
must  next  be  established  and  where  possible  this  should 
have  especial  regard  for  the  existing  locations  of  block 
joints  when  these  cannot  be  changed  so  that  the  in- 
troduction of  unusual  lengths  of  rail  in  the  main  track 
at  isolated  points  may  be  avoided.  In  the  event  that 
this  necessitates  laying  the  rail  against  the  current  of 
traffic,  temporary  rails  of  the  new  section  are  used 
so  that  the  approach  ends  of  the  permanent  rails  will 
not  be  injured.  The  rails  are  then  strung  out  just 
outside  the  ends  of  the  ties  to  be  as  near  their  final 
positions  as  possible  and  incidentally  to  indicate  the 
new  positions  of  the  joints  for  use  in  the  preliminary 
tie  spacing.  This  method  is  not  accurate  on  sharp 
curves  and  the  position  of  the  joints  must  be  deter- 
mined in  such  cases  by  careful  measurement  with  a 
steel  tape  after  the  average  length  of  the  new  rails 
has  been  carefully  ascertained.  When  the  rails  are 
set  up  for  the  purposes  named  it  would  be  an  unnec- 
essary refinement  to  use  shims  and  many  of  the  shims 
would  surely  become  lost.  It  is  quite  sufficient  to 
place  a  number  of  the  rails,  five  in  summer  weather, 


156  THE  TRACKMAX'S  HELPER 

with  their  ends  in  contact  and  separate  each  five  with 
a  spike,  which  represents  the  aggregate  of  the  sev- 
eral spaces. 

"When  the  preliminary  spacing  is  completed  so  as 
to  assure  the  flanges  of  the  splices  entering  without 
exception,  the  word  is  given  and  the  men  line  up  to 
await  the  foreman's  signal  that  use  of  track  has  been 
given,  communicated  from  the  telephone  box  or  from 
his  field  telephone  connected  with  the  despatcher's 
telephone  line.  The  principal  protection  is  the  dis- 
tant flagmen,  who  not  only  display  a  red  banner  but 
place  torpedoes  on  the  rail.  The  signalmen,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  bond  the  track  further  by  means  of  a 
wire  shunt  the  track  circuit  so  as  to  display  the  dan- 
ger signal  at  the  nearest  signal ;  but  at  the  immediate 
location  the  foreman's  red  flag  is  always  in  evidence 
until  replaced  by  a  white  one  to  indicate  that  all  pro- 
tection may  be  withdrawn  and  traffic  be  allowed  to 
run  as  usual.  This  assumes  that  all  ties  are  fully 
spiked,  all  bolts  inserted  and  made  tight  and  at  least 
two  bond  wires  are  in  place  at  each  joint." 


IX 


EFFECTS  OF   THE  WAVE   MOTION  OF  RAIL  ON  TRACK  RAIL 

MOVEMENTS 

As  all  rail  movements  are  on  the  principle  of  the 
lever,  there  is  of  necessity  an  undulatory  motion  dur- 
ing the  passage  of  every  train,  the  principle  of  which 
is  illustrated  in  Fig.  25.  The  amount  of  this  is  de- 
pendent on  the  condition  of  the  sub-grade,  ballast, 
ties,  rail  and  weight  of  the  rolling  stock.     Any  weak- 


S 


^ 


Normal     Track, 


TracK  under  passing  load. 

Fig.  25.  Wave  Action  of  Track  Under  Wlieels 

ness  in  the  drainage,  ballast,  ties  or  rail  will  at  once 
show  itself  when  put  into  use.  If  not  corrected  at 
once  this  will  increase,  and  the  destruction  it  can 
cause  is  likely  to  be  serious.  The  less  substantial  the 
superstructure  the  greater  ballast  compression  there 
will  be,  and,  of  necessity,  rough-riding  track, 

157 


158  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

If  water  be  permitted  to  collect  under  the  ties  in  a 
short  time  they  will  churn,  which  action,  unless  taken 
care  of,  will  prove  destructive. 

IMovements  or  vibrations  of  any  kind  are  objection- 
able in  the  track ;  and  for  that  reason  wood  and  stone 
are  used  to  absorb  these  as  much  as  possible. 

The  undulatory  motion  of  the  rail  has  the  follow- 
ing- injurious  effects : 

1.  Compresses  the  ties  in  the  ballast. 

2.  Churns  the  ties. 

3.  Cuts  the  ties  at  the  rail  base. 

4.  Displaces  the  ballast. 

5.  Injures  the  roadbed. 

6.  Injures  the  rail. 

7.  Causes  the  rail  to  creep. 

8.  Wears  the  angle  bars. 

9.  Wears  the  bolts. 

10.  Raises  the  spikes. 

11.  Wears  the  spikes. 

Ballast  compression.  The  different  functions  that 
a  tie  performs  must  be  taken  into  consideration, 

1.  It  holds  the  rails  to  gage. 

2.  Supports  the  rails. 

3.  Distributes  the  weight  of  the  passing  w^ieel  loads 
to  the  ballast  and  roadbed. 

4.  Resists  compression  into  the  ballast. 

It  is  claimed  by  many  that  the  ties  act  as  abut- 
ments, and  the  rail  deflections  occur  between  these. 
This  was  finally  proved  to  be  an  error. 

Churning  of  ties  and  displacing  of  ballast.  The 
foundation  of  all  ties  being  loosely  compacted  mate- 
rial, any  movement  of  the  tie,  or  what  is  commonly 
called  "churning  of  the  tie,"  necessarily  throws  un- 
equal loading  on  the  ballast  at  different  times,  causes 
its  compression  and  movement,  and  destruction  of  the 
tie  foundation.     The  wider  the  ties  and  the  lighter 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  159 

the  rail  and  the  heavier  the  loads,  the  greater  such 
movement  must  necessarily  be. 

Assume,  for  instance,  two  wide  ties  and  a  light  rail, 
and  over  them  a  heavy  wheel  load,  midway  between 
the  ties.  This  rail  will  bend  under  these  conditions 
and  take  the  form  of  a  curve,  thus  throwing  the  wheel 
load  on  the  near  edge  of  each  tie,  producing  an  ec- 
centric loading  of  the  tie,  greater  compression  under 
the  edge  of  the  tie  that  is  loaded  than  on  the  opposite 
edge,  and,  necessarily,  a  slight  movement  of  the  tie 
to  adjust  itself  to  these  conditions.  When  the  wheel 
moves  to  the  opposite  side  of  either  of  these  ties  the 
conditions  are  reversed,  and  thus  the  churning  takes 
place. 

Injury  to  the  roadbed  is  a  necessary  sequence  of 
the  ballast  displacement,  and  is  augmented  by  the 
amount  of  water  standing  in  pools  on  the  bed. 

Injury  to  the  rail.  According  to  Professor  Dud- 
ley, rails  take  a  permanent  set,  as  regards  wave  mo- 
tion, in  one  of  three  forms : 

1.  Joint  low  and  center  high. 

2.  Joint  and  center  low,  quarter  high. 

3.  Entire  rail  wavy. 

The  first  occurs  in  rails  which  are  laid  with  the 
joints  square  or  opposite ;  consequently  the  low  places 
are  found  at  the  weakest  point,  the  joints,  while  the 
centers  are  high. 

The  second  form  is  met  with  in  rails  which  are  laid 
with  their  joints  broken.  The  weak  point  being  the 
joint,  it  deflects  in  time,  and  trouble  also  appears  in 
the  opposite  rail  at  the  center.  On  this  line  of  rea- 
soning, if  it  is  low  at  one  point  it  must  be  high  at 
another,  which  is  the  quarter. 

The  third  form  appears  in  the  rail  where  the  ties 
have  been  tamped  unevenly,  there  being  alternate 
hard  and  soft  spots  in  the  bed. 


160  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Wear  of  angle  bars  and  bolts.  At  the  joints  there 
are  several  parts  working  independently — the  two 
angle  bars,  the  bolts,  nuts,  nut  locks,  rails,  ties,  and, 
to  a  certain  extent,  the  spikes  and  ballast.  Now,  the 
least  particle  of  vibratory  motion  destroys  the  mutual 
relationship  between  these  parts,  and  wearing  is  the 
result.  The  principal  wear  is  on  top  and  underneath 
the  bar,  where  the  rail  rests,  and,  in  turn,  where  the 
bar  rests  on  the  rail.  The  bolt  holes  are  also  en- 
larged. The  bolts,  being  a  portion  of  the  joint  fasten- 
ing, also  wear,  and  in  time  are  unfit  for  use. 

Raising  of  spikes.  As  the  vibratory  motion  of  the 
rail  takes  place,  something  has  to  give  way.  If  the 
fastening  to  the  tie  is  by  push  bolt  or  lag  screw,  the 
tie  will  be  raised  with  the  vibration  and  ' '  pump  ' '  the 
ballast.  This  action  will  take  place  for  a  while,  but 
in  time  these  fastenings  will  become  loose.  If  the  rail 
is  held  down  by  a  spike,  the  tendency  is  to  raise  it 
an  exceedingly  small  amount,  enough  to  allow  for  the 
play  of  the  rail.  Spikes  are  either  re-enforced  under 
the  head  or  perfectly  plain.  It  is  at  this  point  that 
the  re-enforcement  is  injurious,  for  whether  it  is  in 
the  back  or  front  of  a  spike,  raising  it  affords  the  rail 
an  opportunity  to  move  laterally  by  the  amount  of  ex- 
tra metal  in  the  neck.  As  the  re-enforcement  inclines 
toward  the  vertical  axis  of  the  spike  as  it  extends  down 
the  neck,  the  further  it  is  extracted  from  the  tie  the 
larger  the  opening  left  for  the  spike  to  fill  up ;  hence 
the  spike  is  crowded  backwards  in  the  hole  and  the 
rails  have  a  chance  to  spread.  In  short,  there  should 
be  no  re-enforcement  on  the  neck  of  a  spike. 

Tendency  of  rail  to  work  into  face  of  tie.  When 
the  spike  is  slightly  higher  than  its  normal  position 
in  the  tie,  the  rail  has  an  opportunity  to  act  on  the 
tie  more  than  otherwise.  This  action  partakes  of 
three  different  forms: 

1.  A  straight  pressure  downwards. 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL 


161 


2.  A  lateral  pressure. 

3.  A  resultant  of  these  two. 

Wear  of  spikes.     The  rail  has  an  opportunity  to 
work  up  and  down,  wearing  the  neck  of  the  spike. 


Fig.  26.     The  P.  &  M.  Anti  Rail-Creeper 
Two   Simple   Parts — No   Bolts 


The  same  action  takes  place  when  a  spike  is  not  driven 
properly. 

Wear  of  rails.  When  a  rail  is  unduly  canted  all 
the  running  is  done  on  one  side  of  the  head,  and,  con- 
sequently, this  is  where  the  surface  wear  takes  place. 


162 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


Creeping  rails.     Creeping  is  caused  by  the  iindula- 
torv  motion,  and  is  verv  destructive  to  track.     Not 


Fig.  27.     The  "Dinklage  Creep  Check" 

only  does  it  buckle  the  joints  and  tear  apart  the  bolts, 
but  also  disturbs  the  ties,  especially  those  at  the  joints, 
and  displaces  the  ballast.     This  is  arrested  in  part  by 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL 


163 


the  slot  holes  in  the  angle  bar,  but  anchors  of  some 
sort  should  be  used  in  addition.  Many  devices  for 
this  purpose  are  on  the  market,  a  number  of  which 
are  illustrated  in  Figs.  26  to  29  inclusive.  In  stone 
ballast,  tamping  ties  on  the  leaving  side  materially 
assists,  as  well  as  driving  the  outside  spikes  on  the 
leaving  side. 

Rail  creeping'.     ^Ir.   G.  Van  Zandt  published,  in 


Fig.  28.     The    Vaughan    Rail    Anchor     ' 

Railway  Engineering  and  Maintenance  of  Way,  the 
following  article,  which  is  here  given  substantially  in 
full: 

*' Among  the  peculiar  phenomena  of  the  mainte- 
nance of  railway  track,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
(and  sometimes  most  perplexing  and  troublesome)  is 
the  continual  movement  of  the  rails  along  the  ties. 
It  has  long  been  observed  by  trackmen  and  engineers 
and  many  interesting  accounts  have  been  published  in 


strike 
Here 


Strike 
Here 


Fig.  29.     The  Holdfast  Rail  Anchor 
164 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  165 

regard  to  this  movement  with  theories  accounting  for 
the  action. 

''Rail  creeping  has  been  found  to  assume  aston- 
ishing proportions  and  to  cause  a  large  number  of 
wrecks  in  some  localities.  An  incident  often  quoted 
in  this  connection  is  given  by  Mr.  Thomas  Keefer  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Ry.  (Am.  Soc.  C.  E.  XIX.  1888) 
w^ho  witnessed  a  movement  of  over  two  feet  with  the 
passage  of  a  single  train  over  a  'muskeg'  or  swampy 
locality.  In  many  cases  it  is  reported  to  have  moved 
around  sharp  curves  and  to  have  straightened  out  on 
the  following  tangent  or  reversed  on  a  following  curve. 

"The  results  to  the  track  are  well  known  to  track- 
men who  have  to  continually  combat  this  tendency. 
'The  movement,'  says  Mr.  Camp  (Am.  Soc.  C.  E. 
1904),  'causes  trouble  and  expense  in  many  ways.  It 
shoves  joint  ties  off  their  tamped  beds  upon  loose 
ballast;  frogs  are  crowded  out  of  alignment,  and 
wrecks  are  not  infrequent  from  such  causes.'  Sig- 
nals and  switches  are  put  out  of  order  and  splice  bars 
broken,  so  that  constant  inspection  is  made  necessary 
to  insure  safety  of  operation.  The  alignment  at  cross- 
ings is  often  disturbed  and  many  irregularities  of 
track  are  due  to  the  accumulative  creeping  of  the  rails. 
At  summits  rails  have  separated  several  feet,  the 
bolts  shearing  off  or  splice  bars  breaking  and  track 
crowding  in  the  sags  where  kinking  out  of  alignment 
frequently  occurs. 

"Numerous  appliances  known  as  'anti-creepers' 
have  been  devised  to  prevent  this  movement,  some  of 
them  combining  the  splice  bars  with  the  holding  de- 
vice. These  generally  consist  of  a  plate  fastened  to 
the  rail  and  held  to  the  tie  so  that  any  movement  of 
the  rail  will  be  retarded  by  the  resistance  of  the  tie 
in  the  ballast.  The  result  has  been  unsatisfactory,  in 
many  cases,  because  the  ties  have  moved  with  the  rails 
and  'bunched'  before  the  creepers;  however  where 


16G  THE  TRACKJVIAN'S  HELPER 

creeping  is  not  excessive  '  anti-creepers '  have  prevented 
appreciable  movement. 

''For  obvious  reasons  it  is  not  desirable  to  run  the 
risk  of  throwing  additional  stresses  into  the  bridge 
structures  by  attempting  to  hold  the  creeping  rails  by 
'anti-creepers.'  Hence  in  many  places  the  rails  are 
left  free  to  move  across  the  bridges.  In  some  locali- 
ties there  is  very  little  trouble  from  creeping  and  no 
provision  is  made  for  it.  In  other  places  the  placing 
of  blocks  between  ties  to  reduce  the  wave-motion  of 
the  rail  has  been  used  more  or  less  successfullv.  In 
some  bridges,  however,  it  has  been  a  difiScult  prob- 
lem, especially  with  long  spans  giving  considerable 
deflection,  and  especially  where  the  elasticity  of  the 
ties  beneath  adds  to  this  depression  by  remote  support. 
The  Eads  Bridge  across  the  Mississippi  River  at  St. 
Louis,  ^lo.,  has  an  excessively  heavy  traffic  and  has 
the  remarkable  record  of  rail  creeping,  forty-two  (42) 
feet  in  a  single  month. 

"In  this  bridge,  devices  have  been  made  for  han- 
dling the  rail  as  its  moves,  switch  points  being  placed 
where  the  process  begins  and  ends.  At  eight  points 
on  the  bridge  these  'creepers'  are  located,  requiring 
the  services  (day  and  night)  of  eight  men.  A  full 
description  (Sci.  Am.  Mar.  24,  1900)  of  the  'Irish- 
man,' or  rail  creeper,  has  been  given  by  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  structure,  who  states  that  'the  creep- 
ing occurs  not  only  on  the  bridge  but  also  on  the  ap- 
proach trestles.  It  is  always  in  the  direction  of  the 
traffic.  The  movement  is  dependent  upon  the  elas- 
ticity of  the  track  supports  and  varies  with  the  ton- 
nage passing  over  the  rails.  An  attempt  was  made 
at  one  time  to  check  the  movement  but  the  strain  on 
the  fastenings  was  sufficient  to  tear  fish-plates  in  two 
and  shear  off  seven-eighths  inch  track  bolts. '  '  A  fur- 
ther studv  of  this  bridge,'  states  Mr.  J.  B.  Johnson 
(Journal  of  Ass'n.  of  Eng.  Soc.  Vol.  IV,  Pg.  8,  1885), 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  167 

'  reveals  the  secret  of  the  causes  of  the  phenomena. 
The  tendency  is  due  to  the  wave  motion,  causing  the 
rail  to  be  longer  than  the  corresponding  linear  dis- 
tance. The  rail  is  seen  to  roll  along  on  its  base  and 
move  as  much  as  the  base  is  longer  than  the  neutral 
axis. '  A  careful  study  of  the  depressions  of  the  track, 
due  to  this  rolling  load,  reveals  the  following : 

"  ( 1 )  There  is  first  a  rising  of  the  rail  from  the  tie 
at  a  point  about  ten  feet  in  front  of  the  wheel. 

''(2)  A  deep  and  rapid  depression  follows  as  the 
load  approaches,  reaching  a  maximum  under  the 
wheel. 

"  (3)  Between  the  wheel  loads  there  is  a  slight  ris- 
ing of  the  rail  varying  with  the  weights  and  the  dis- 
tance between  them. 

''(4)  The  forward  motion  occurs  just  in  front  of 
each  wheel. 

"Figure  30  is  a  diagram  showing  the  motion  as 
theoretically  determined  by  Mr.  Johnson.  The  load 
advances  from  P  to  p  and  the  base  is  held  down  by 
the  weight  upon  the  rail  so  there  can  be  no  movement 
backward.  The  frictional  hold  would  probably  be 
thirty  per  cent  or  more  of  the  weight  upon  the  tie, 
not  to  mention  the  grip  of  the  spikes,  etc.  It  is  ob- 
vious that  while  depressed  under  a  wheel  load  the 
base  of  the  rail  is  on  the  circumference  of  an  arc  of 
greater  radius  than  the  neutral  axis.  Since  the  base 
cannot  slip  the  neutral  axis  must  move  forward  the 
difference  between  lengths  of  the  arcs.  As  there  is  a 
difference  between  the  length  of  the  neutral  axis  when 
horizontal  and  when  on  the  curve,  in  the  rolling  of 
the  wheel  load  there  must  be  an  elongation  or  a  move- 
ment. If  there  were  no  wave  motion  beneath  the 
train  and  the  depression  were  uniform,  the  depressed 
curved  track  would  evidently  be  longer  than  the  orig- 
inal horizontal  track  since  the  straight  line  is  shorter 
than  a  curve.     It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the 


168 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


advance  wave  and  depression,  together  with  the  resil- 
ience wave  in  the  rear  are  the  causes  of  the  horizontal 
motion  of  the  rail. 

On  the  basis  of  the  above  theory,  it  follows  that, 


a. 


Figure 
Fig.  30.     Wave  Motion,   Cause  of  Creeping 

should  the  rail  be  supported  in  some  manner  from  the 
top,  it  would  move  in  the  opposite  direction.  This 
it  has  been  shown  actually  to  do  upon  a  model  con- 
structed for  the  purpose.     This  model  was  prepared 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  169 

with  a  wooden  rail  mounted  on  springs  and  free  to 
move.  A  rolling  weight  was  moved  around  a  circular 
track  causing  deep  depressions.  A  forward  motion 
was  very  apparent  when  the  rail  was  supported  at 
the  base  and  a  similar  backward  motion  when  the  rail 
was  supported  from  the  top.  A  practical  demonstra- 
tion of  this  action  has  also  appeared  in  bridges  which 
show  a  marked  tendency  to  move  on  their  supports 
unless  held  by  rigid  connections.  Through  spans  are 
thus  forced  forward  and  deck  spans  backward." 

Many  contradictions  appear  among  the  observations 
of  creeping  rails ;  some  observers  declare  that  the  outer 
rail  on  curves  creeps  more  than  the  inner,  whereas 
others  claim  the  reverse,  and,  similarly,  some  state 
that  on  tangents  the  right  hand  rails  move  more  than 
those  on  the  other  side  (in  the  direction  of  traffic). 
A  typical  report  of  investigation  is  found  in  the  rec- 
ord of  the  annual  meeting  .of  the  Roadmasters'  As- 
sociation of  America,  1898,  a  part  of  which  is  quoted 
below : 

"Rails  creep  in  the  direction  of  traffic  on  double 
track  lines.  This  creeping  is  found  to  be  the  greatest 
on  down  grades  and  worst  where  tracks  are  laid  over 
marshes. 

"It  has  also  been  ascertained  that  on  curves  the 
outer  or  higher  rails  creep  the  more. 

"The  cause  of  creeping  track  is  the  rolling  load 
passing  over  it, — producing  a  wave  motion. 

"It  is  doubtful  if  a  remedy  exists  or  can  be 
found. 

"The  most  common  method  is  to  rely  upon  an- 
chorage. Three-tie  joints  give  best  anchorage  but  do 
not  prevent  creeping. 

"The  best  method  is  to  restrict  the  wave  motion, 
which  can  be  done  only  by  having  a  stiff  rail  to  trans- 
mit weight  over  greater  area  of  ties  and  ballast,  track 
to  be  well  tied,  and  ballast  dressed  off  full  at  the 


170  THE  TRACKjVIAN'S  HELPER 

ends  of  ties  (to  prevent  skewing  of  ties  and  tighten- 
ing of  gage)  but  to  allow  for  drainage." 

Reference  is  made  to  the  experiments  of  Mr.  How- 
ard on  the  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  for  the  determination 
of  the  rail  depressions.  ( Watertown  Arsenal  Reports, 
1905.)  A  long  series  of  tests  was  made  and  the  re- 
sults carefully  prepared,  showing  the  actual  depres- 
sions under  different  loads  with  different  rails  and 
roadbed  conditions.  It  was  found  that,  generally 
speaking  and  other  things  being  equal,  of  the  three 
kinds  of  ballast  used,  viz.,  stone,  gravel  and  cinders, 
the  gravel  ballast  gave  the  least  average  depressions. 
The  advance  wave  was  well  demonstrated  and  found 
to  be  eight  to  ten  feet  in  front  of  the  locomotive  and 
to  rise  to  a  level  about  one-fourth  of  one  inch  above 
the  depressed  track  under  the  wheel  load.  A  series 
of  readings  was  also  made  with  a  spirit  level  to  de- 
termine the  slope  of  the  rail  as  the  loads  passed  over 
it.  From  these  it  appears  that  there  is  a  hump  in  the 
rail  immediately  preceding  each  wheel  like  that  pro- 
duced by  sliding  a  heavy  weight  over  a  carpet.  This, 
of  course,  is  true  for  moving  loads  only,  and  consider- 
able difference  would  be  found  if  the  locomotive  were 
to  be  let  down  upon  the  rail  from  above  by  a  crane, 
thus  giving  static  depression  curves. 

A  number  of  interesting  experiments  are  given  by 
Mr.  P.  H.  Dudlev,  who  invented  a  micrometer  for 
measuring  the  strains  in  rails.  His  results  are  inter- 
esting, revealing  the  stresses  due  to  these  depressions 
and  concentrations  of  weight.  He  concludes  that 
"heavier  rails  distribute  the  weight  better,"  the  de- 
sign being  an  important  element.  "The  dynamic  ef- 
fects increase  with  the  roughness  of  the  rails  and 
treads"  and  with  the  speed,  especially  on  track  with 
many  irregularities.  New  rails  do  not  appear  to  show 
a  reduction  of  wave  motion,  probably  on  account  of 
their  non-conformity  to  the  worn  treads  of  the  wheels. 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  171 

It  lias  been  observed  that  ''it  requires  two  years  and 
over  before  heavy  rails  reach  their  best  condition  in 
the  track."  The  readings  of  the  stresses  in  the  rails 
indicate  that  the  ' '  strains  increased  14.3  per  cent,  with 
an  increase  of  speed  from  two  to  ten  miles  per  hour. ' ' 
Reverse  stresses  were  recorded  between  wheels,  indi- 
cating compression  on  the  base  of  the  rail.  It  ap- 
pears, therefore,  that  the  resilience  of  the  track-bed 
tends  to  bend  up  the  rail  as  soon  as  the  wheels  have 
passed  over.  It  is  noticeable  that  light  passenger 
locomotives  with  wheels  separated  by  greater  distance 
give  greater  wave  motion  than  the  heavier  freight  loco- 
motives with  drivers  bunched  together. 

A  very  interesting  series  of  experiments  is  recorded 
by  Mr.  Wagner  (Amer.  Soc.  C.  E.,  Vol.  53,  p.  466, 
1904),  giving  actual  observed  experiments  of  track 
covering  long  periods  of  time.     The  results  show  that, 

(1)  Of  the  32  points  measured,  21  showed  no  dif- 
ference between  the  movements  of  right  and  left  rails ; 
8  showed  more  for  right  and  3  the  more  for  the  left. 

(2)  In  seven  of  twelve  observations,  the  greatest 
creeping  was  on  down  grades ;  five  on  level  showed  no 
difference. 

(3)  More  creeping  was  observed  to  occur  on  em- 
bankments or  over  swampy  ground. 

(4)  More  creeping  appears  on  imperfectly  main- 
tained track. 

Mr.  W.  M.  Camp  (''Notes  on  Track,"  p.  584)  states 
that  "there  are  two  longitudinal  movements  on  rails; 
one,  a  molecular  movement  of  expansion  or  contrac- 
tion in  the  metal,  the  other  a  progressive  shifting  of 
the  rails  bodily,  commonly  known  as  '  creeping '  or  run- 
ning."  He  states  also  that  the  "creeping  is  most 
rapid  during  hot  weather,"  and  "it  is  greater  on 
double  than  on  single  track,"  and  further  that  it  is 
generally  in  the  direction  of  the  traffic.  The  manner 
of  the  creeping  and  the  amount  depend  upon  "  (1)  the 


172 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


character  of  the  ground  or  foundation  for  the  track ; 
(2)  the  direction  in  which  the  train  loads  are  the 
heavier;  (3)  the  proportion  of  the  weight  distributed 
on  the  two  rails;  (4)  the  speed  of  the  trains;  and  (5) 
the  manner  in  which  the  ties  are  spiked." 

The  actual  value  of  rolling  resistance  is  difficult  to 
determine  as  any  data  are  likely  to  include  some  of  the 
many  other  factors  which  go  to  make  up  train  re- 
sistance. 


Y-rrTTTT 


>n n //  f  /'///'  /  y 


k-b- 

Figure 
Fig.    .31.     Direction    of    Rollinor    Resistance 


<  ( 


That  it  is  a  very  insignificant  part  of  train  re- 
sistance" is  the  contention  of  Mr.  Webb  (Economics 
of  Railway  Location,  p.  181).  Mr.  I.  P.  Church,  in 
''Mechanics  of  Engineering,"  states  that  "the  word 
'friction'  is  hardly  appropriate  except  when  the  road- 
way is  perfectly  elastic."  Referring  to  Figure  31  he 
continues :  ' '  The  track  being  compressed,  its  resultant 
pressure  is  not  at  0  vertically  under  the  centre,  but 
some  distance  0-D  in  front.  The  'rolling-resistance' 
is  therefore 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  173 

R  =  b  -f-  radius  X  weight. 

where  'b'  is  the  small  distance  0-D." 

Mr.  Pambour  gives  as  the  result  of  experiment  on 
railroad  wheels  of  cast-iron  39.4  inches  in  diameter. 

b  =  .0196  to  0.0216  inches. 

''If  the  force  of  resistance  or  the  resultant  can  be 
assumed  as  acting  normal  to  the  track  at  the  centre  of 
the  area  of  contact,  we  have  a  triangle  of  forces  one 
angle  of  which  can  be  approximated  by  the  slope  tests 
above  mentioned.  After  working  out  a  series  of  re- 
sults in  this  manner,  the  values  shown  in  the  table 
below  were  obtained. 

Table  of  rolling  resistance  or  ''rail  push." 


Wheel 


Pilot     . 
Driver 


Tender 


Load 

Slope 

Resistance 

Remarks 

(Axle) 

Total 

Pounds 

Per  Cent 

Pounds     #/Ton 

Pounds 

.11,000 

0.0241 

22.14 

4.02 

Rail      85      lbs 
A.S.C.E. 

26,500 

0.0149 

32.904 

2.48 

Stone     Ballast 

27,500 

0.0110 

25.205 

1.84 

Oak  Ties 

31,300 

0.0065 

16.984 

1.08 

28,500    ( 

— )0.0025 

( — )    3.854 

0.03 

93.343 

or  1.51  # /Ton 

15,950 

0.0125 

20.913 

2.52 

H 

0.0080 

10.633 

1.33 

n 

0.0190 

25.251 

3.17 

"     ( 

— )0.0010 

12.287 

1.66 

43.510 

or  1.36#/Ton 

( i 


Similarly  with  a  passenger  locomotive  and  tender 
it  was  found  that  with  70-lb.  rail  and  gravel  ballast 
the  rolling  resistance  of  the  engine  was  2.21  Ibs./ton 
and  of  the  tender  1.59  Ibs./ton. 

"The  above  analysis  demonstrates  the  fact  that  the 
rolling  resistance  is  a  small  part  of  the  train  resistance, 
probably  seldom  reaching  as  much  as  1  per  cent  of  the 
weight  in  any  well  maintained  track.  Further,  on  the 
basis  of  the  above  analysis  of  rail  creeping,  the  rolling 
resistance  is  not  all  taken  up  by  the  rail  by  'glancing 
blows,'  but  is  communciated  to  the  track  below  and 
results  in  the  depression  of  the  earth  or  'settling'  of 


174  THE  TRACICMAN'S  HELPER 

the  track  so  commonly  observed.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  a  part  of  this  energy  is  consumed  in  producing 
the  forward  movement  of  the  rail,  but  this  would  not 
be  an  important  factor  in  its  determination.  The 
statement  has  been  made  that  rolling  resistance  in- 
creases on  curves,  but  evidently  resistance  other  than 
the  '  rolling  friction '  was  taken  into  consideration  and 
it  is  probable  that  in  a  more  careful  investigation  it 
would  not  be  materially  different  on  curves  of  ordinary 
radius  than  on  tangent.  In  the  light  of  the  above  it 
appears  improbable  'that  there  would  be  no  creeping 
with  a  continuous  rail, '  as  Mr.  Lindenthal  asserts.  If 
the  rolling  resistance  is  the  controlling  factor,  there  is 
no  reason  why  a  continuous  rail  would  remove  creep- 
ing. The  concussive  and  oscillatory  factors  would  be 
materially  reduced  as  with  any  item  improving  the 
track  condition,  but  any  improvement  of  the  track 
reduces  wave -motion  as  well  and  in  this  way  only  may 
reduce  creeping. 

"The  prevention  of  rail  creeping  has  always  been  a 
serious  problem  of  track  maintenance.  Of  the  many 
appliances  now  on  the  market,  few  attempt  to  remove 
the  cause  of  the  greatest  part  of  this  movement.  To 
summarize  the  conclusions  of  practice,  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing recommendations : 

*'(1)  Good  track.  If  alignment,  drainage,  ballast, 
tieplates,  spiking,  are  all  first  class,  much  of  the  creep- 
ing can  be  prevented.  'Track  inspections  show  that 
almost  invariably  the  rails  on  the  outside  of  double 
track  are  subject  to  greater  average  deflection.' 
(Camp,  Notes  on  Track,  p.  588),  and  this  is  due  to 
the  lack  of  ballast  on  the  ends  of  ties  and  shows  the  im- 
portance of  the  suggestions  made  by  the  committee  of 
the  Roadmaster's  Association  above  quoted. 

"(2)  The  desirahility  of  traffic  moving  in  both  di- 
rections over  the  same  track  and  the  equalizing  of  ton- 
nage in  each  direction. 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  175 


<  ( 


(3)  Most  of  all,  the  necessity  of  removing  the 
cause  of  the  wave-motion  by  preventing  depressions 
of  large  amount  under  wheel  loads. 

' '  If  the  other  conditions  are  well  taken  care  of,  then 
the  only  remaining  cause  of  consequence  is  the  rolling 
of  the  rail  on  its  base  as  above  described.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  to  overcome  this  effect,  it  is  necessary  to  sup- 
port the  rail  at  such  a  place  above  the  neutral  axis 
that  the  tendency  to  move  backward  due  to  wave- 
motion  will  counteract  the  forward  tendency  due  to 
the  difference  in  length  of  the  curved  and  the  straight 
rail. 

''This  requires  a  new  rail  of  such  shape  and  a  sup- 
port of  such  design  as  will  fulfill  the  conditions  stated. 
This  would  also  mean  a  design  to  meet  the  special  con- 
ditions of  each  locality  where  great  trouble  is  found 
with  creeping.  A  rail  somewhat  approaching  this  de- 
sign is  found  in  use  in  England  where  creeping  is 
almost  unknown.  The  rails  are  not  supported  by 
the  head,  but  prevented  from  moving  sidewise  by 
supports  which  are  wedged  against  the  web  directly 
under  the  head,  and  they  doubtless  transmit  some  of 
the  concentration  to  the  tie.     (See  Fig.  32.)     Some 


tBk. 


A'  B. 

Fig.  32.     English  Rail  Section   to  Prevent  Creeping 

similar  system  could  be  used  in  localities  of  much 
creeping  and  ought  to  remove  the  cause  of  the  diffi- 
culty. In  the  figure  it  is  suggested  that  'B'  supports 
the  rail  under  the  head  and  leaves  the  base  free  to 


176 


THE  TRACKISIAN'S  HELPER 


move  with  the  inevitable  wave  motion,  but  there  would 
be  no  tendency  to  move  forward.  This  would  re- 
quire the  use  of  the  English  rail  section,  which  for 
many  other  reasons  might  be  undesirable. 

"As  a  practical  solution  of  the  problem,  on  long 
span  bridges  such  as  the  Eads  bridge  above  mentioned, 
the  type  of  construction  shown  in  Figure  33  is  sug- 
gested.    This  might  also  be  found  of  advantage  in 


Fig.  33.     Special  Rail  Section  to  Prevent  Creeping  on 


Bridges 


other  places  of  excessive  rail  creeping.  Two  rails 
are  turned  base  to  base  and  bolted  together  with  track 
bolts.  The  two  sections  are  so  selected  that  the  neutral 
axis  lies  sufficiently  below^  the  point  of  support  to 
counteract  all  tendency  to  move  forward.  The  sup- 
port is  of  such  design  that  the  weight  is  well  dis- 
tributed and  investigation  shows  that  there  would  be 
no  danger  of  deformation  or  shear  with  ordinary  rails 
and  present  loads. 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  177 

"KoUing  loads  upon  passing  over  this  track  would 
produce  some  wave  motion,  but  that  which  would  be 
produced,  would  be  taken  care  of  in  the  backward 
motion  of  the  head  of  the  under  rail.  All  the  causes 
would  therefore  be  removed  and  the  conditions  would 
be  fulfilled  to  prevent  the  rail  from  creeping. 

'^  Comparative  observations  have  been  made  upon 
bridges  which  have  stringers  directly  under  the  rails 
and  those  supporting  the  rails  on  the  ties  at  some  dis- 
tance— as  in  the  support  of  double  track  on  three 
stringers.  A  very  marked  increased  creeping  is 
noticeable  on  the  design  involving  the  elasticity  of  the 
ties, 

''In  conclusion,  it  appears  that  by  the  close  study 
of  all  the  conditions,  including  the  design  of  the  bridge 
floors,  and  the  preparation  of  the  track,  practically  all 
the  rail  movement  may  be  eliminated  in  a  way  which 
when  applied  to  the  bridge  spans  will  not  bring  unde- 
sirable stresses  into  the  structure. 

''The  use  of  the  precautions  above  noted,  together 
with  anti-creepers,  on  good  track  on  which  trains  are 
run  in  opposite  directions  with  approximately  the 
same  tonnage,  should  completely  eliminate  the  creep- 
ing of  the  rails  and  its  attendant  evils.  Too  much 
emphasis  can  not  be  laid  upon  the  desirability  of  good 
drainage  for  it  is  necessary  that  the  depression  of  the 
rail,  under  the  wheel  load,  should  be  a  minimum,  and 
this  requires  that  the  roadbed  should  be  firm  and  well 
drained." 

Practical  conclusions  by  the  authors.  In  com- 
menting upon  the  above  interesting  article  and  giving 
the  theoretical  reason  for  the  creeping  of  rails  and 
such  suggestive  theoretical  methods  for  avoiding  such 
trouble,  we  would  note  that  up  to  date  the  most  satis- 
factory and  practical  solution  of  the  difficulty  has  been 
to  employ  rail  anchors  or  anti-creepers,  the  judicious 
use  of  which  nearly  always  results  in  an  entirely  satis- 


178  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

factory  solution.  The  number  of  anchors  or  anti- 
creepers  used  should  be  proportioned  to  the  amount 
of  creeping  force  developed  by  the  conditions  of  road 
bed  and  traffic.  It  need  hardly  be  remarked  that  while 
it  is  desirable  to  have  the  same  amount  of  tonnage  in 
each  direction  in  order  to  avoid  creeping,  no  railroad  is 
going  to  regulate  its  business  for  the  purpose  of  elimi- 
nating the  creeping  of  rails,  this  being  very  desirable 
from  a  laboratory  and  experimental  standpoint,  but 
utterly  impractical  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  rail- 
road business. 

The  relative  cost  of  maintenance  of  unanchored 
track  and  track  anchored  to  prevent  creeping  of  ties 
is  shown  in  an  article  in  the  Railway  Age  Gazette. 
The  data  are  taken  from  records  made  on  the  mainte- 
nance of  3 1/2  miles  of  double  tangent  track  of  level 
grade,  light  gravel  ballast,  85  lb.  rail  and  broken 
joints.  The  heavy  traffic  was  north  bound  and  conse- 
quently all  data  are  based  on  the  north  bound  track, 
as  the  creeping  tendency  here  was  decided.  This 
track  had  been  put  in  service  14  months  before,  and 
one  mile  in  the  center  of  the  stretch  was  anchored, 
leaving  IV2  miles  on  the  north  and  one  mile  on  the 
south  end  not  anchored.  Where  the  track  was  an- 
chored, 640  anti-creepers  were  applied,  two  per  rail 
length,  opposite  joints  against  opposite  end  of  joint 
ties.  The  anti-creepers  have  received  no  maintenance 
and  have  shown  no  failure,  although  they  had  been  in 
service  14  months  at  the  time  of  inspection. 

The  kind  of  work  done  on  the  two  pieces  of  track 
in  14  months  was  as  follows : — The  anchored  track  was 
resurfaced  once,  while  the  unanchored  track  was  re- 
surfaced twice,  the  ties  thereon  were  spaced  twice  and 
the  rail  driven  back  twice. 

The  total  maintenance  cost  for  the  mile  where  the 
anti-creepers  were  applied,  including  the  cost  of  anti- 
creepers,  is  as  follows: 


EFFECTS  OF  WAVE  MOTION  OF  RAIL  179 

Cost  of  anti-creepers,  640  at  IT^/oc  each $112.00 

Applying  640  anti-creepers  at  %c  each   3.20 

Resurfacing,  10  men  working  16  days,  at  $1.55  per  day  248.00 

Total  $363.20 

The  total  cost  of  the  next  mile  north  of  the  mile 
where  the  anti-creepers  were  applied,  subject  to  the 
same  conditions  of  traffic,  roadbed,  etc.,  but  unan- 
chored,  is  given  below: 

Cost  of  resurfacing  twice,  each  time  10  men,  16  days, 

at  $1.55  per  day,  $248 $    496.00 

Cost  of  respacing  ties  twice,  each  time  10  men,  17  days, 

at  $1.55  per  day,  $263.50 527.00 

Cost  of  driving  back  rail  twice,  each  time  10  men,  2 

foremen,  6  days,  at  $1.55  per  day,  $111.60 223.20 

Total    $1,246.20 

This  shows  a  saving  in  14  months  of  $883  in  favor 
of  the  anchored  track. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  original  cost  of  the  anti- 
creepers  and  of  their  application  have  been  included 
in  the  first  14  months.  These  costs  are  properly 
chargeable  over  the  total  number  of  years  anchors 
are  in  service,  which  in  all  cases  is  at  least  as  long 
as  the  life  of  the  rail  on  which  they  are  applied. 
This  would  make  the  saving  considerably  greater  than 
has  been  estimated.  Furthermore,  this  maintenance 
cost  does  not  include  injury  done  to  ties,  spikes  and 
joints,  which  was  considerable  where  anchors  were 
not  applied,  as  the  creeping  had  pulled  the  ties  badly 
askew,  bending  or  completely  destroying  the  spikes 
and  often  causing  broken  joints.  Where  the  anti- 
creepers  were  applied,  the  wear  and  tear  were  hardly 
worth  considering. 


X 

GENERAL   FALL   TRACK    WORK 

Track  foremen  will  find  plenty  of  work  to  do  dur- 
ing the  fall  months  before  the  ground  freezes,  prepar- 
ing their  sections  to  go  through  the  long  winter 
months  with  as  little  repair  work  as  possible.  If  the 
weather  is  good  more  track  work  can  be  done  in  one 
month  before  the  ground  freezes  than  can  be  per- 
formed during  the  whole  winter. 

Section  foremen  should  find  all  the  places  needing 
attention  and  repair  them  in  the  best  manner  possible. 

Special  care  should  be  given  to  improving  the  sur- 
face of  the  track  and  putting  a  perfect  line  and  gage 
on  the  rails. 

The  roadbed  should  be  cleared  of  weeds  and  grass 
and  the  ballast  along  the  shoulder  of  the  track  and 
between  the  rails  should  be  dressed  up  neatly;  joint 
fastenings  should  be  made  tight,  and  the  ditches  in 
all  cuts  cleaned  out. 

Any  rotten  ties  remaining  in  the  track  should  be 
taken  out  and  replaced  by  new  ones. 

All  new  rail  should  be  laid  before  cold  weather. 
The  joint  ties  should  be  spaced  properly  and  ballast 
put  under  the  track,  and  at  other  points  requiring  at- 
tention where  new  rail  is  not  laid  good  repair  rails 
should  be  put  into  the  track  to  replace  the  ones  that 
have  become  battered.  Grass  should  be  cut  while  still 
green  and  no  rubbish  allowed  around  the  wood  work 
of  bridges,  culverts  or  cattle  guards.  Rubbish  should 
be  gathered  up  and  burned. 

180 


GENERAL  FALL  TRACK  WORK  181 

In  a  prairie  country  the  grass  along  the  right  of 
way  on  both  sides  of  the  track  should  be  burned  off 
clean  as  soon  as  it  is  dry  enough,  and  the  tops  of  the 
cuts  should  be  burned  off  first,  to  prevent  the  loco- 
motives from  setting  fires  on  farm  lands  adjoining. 
All  right  of  way  fences  should  be  examined  and  re- 
paired and  snow  fences  put  in  good  condition  to  be 
ready  for  the  first  snow  storm.  All  track  material 
should  be  piled  at  headquarters  or  regularly  desig- 
nated points,  a  safe  distance  from  the  track  where  it 
cannot  cause  snow  drifts. 

Rails,  splices  and  such  other  material  should  be 
raised  from  the  ground  and  piled  upon  platforms  of 
old  ties  so  that  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  handling 
them  after  snow  falls. 

All  ties,  fence  posts,  or  lumber  should  be  piled  up 
with  spaces  between  the  piles  so  that  fire  can  not  com- 
municate to  a  large  quantity  at  once.  Emergency 
rails  and  angle  bars  should  be  placed  at  the  mile  posts 
along  the  section,  to  be  handy  in  case  of  broken  rails. 

Much  of  the  fall  track  work  is  the  same  as  that  done 
during  the  spring  or  summer,  but  foremen  should  be 
particular  to  do  at  this  season  of  the  year  all  work 
which  can  only  be  imperfectly  done  in  the  winter,  or 
must  wait  over  until  the  following  spring  if  not  at- 
tended to  now. 

Cleaning  the  right  of  way.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  month  of  July,  or  before  the  weeds  growing  along 
the  railroad  right  of  way  run  to  seed,  the  section  fore- 
man should  commence  mowing  and  cutting  down  all 
grass,  brush  and  weeds  from  the  shoulder  of  the  track 
out  to  the  right  of  way  limits. 

The  grass  and  weeds  growing  around  the  ends  of 
culverts,  or  close  to  the  bridges,  should  be  mown 
down,  while  the  surrounding  grass  is  still  so  green 
that  it  will  not  burn,  in  order  that  the  mown  grass, 
when  dry,  may  be  burnt  without  danger  of  the  wind 


182  THE  TRACKINIAN'S  HELPER 

spreading  the  fire,  and  to  prevent  other  fires  from 
reaching  the  wood  work  when  burning  off  the  right  of 
way  afterwards.  In  localities  where  the  sections  are 
long  and  only  a  small  force  of  men  is  employed  the 
right  of  way  mowing  is  sometimes  done  only  for  a 
short  distance  out  from  the  shoulder  on  each  side 
along  the  track,  and  the  balance  of  the  right  of  way 
is  left  to  be  burnt  off  later  in  the  fall. 

Narrow  embankments.  Some  foremen  have  a  habit 
of  digging  holes  in  the  embankment  just  outside 
the  ends  of  the  track  ties  when  they  want  a  little 
dirt  or  ballast  to  pick  up  or  dress  the  track.  This  is  all 
wrong,  and  can  be  justified  only  in  case  the  traffic  over 
the  line  is  so  heavy  that  it  is  not  advisable  to  attempt 
to  haul  earth  with  a  push  car.  On  a  mud  track  if 
material  is  wanted  for  this  purpose  it  should  be 
taken  from  the  nearest  cut  with  the  section  push  car, 
or  if  the  fill  is  not  very  deep  the  foreman  should  set 
his  men  throwing  up  dirt  from  outside  the  bottom  of 
the  original  fill.  There  the  necessary  material  can  be 
procured  without  injuring  the  embankment  suf- 
ficiently to  make  it  likely  to  wash  away,  or  weakening 
it  as  a  support  for  the  track.  The  preference  should 
always  be  given  to  material  from  a  cut  even  when  the 
cost  is  a  little  greater.  A  double  purpose  is  served  by 
removing  the  surplus  which  accumulates  in  the 
ditches  and  putting  it  on  the  fill  to  strengthen  it. 
Of  course,  where  track  is  ballasted  with  gravel,  or 
other  like  material,  dirt  should  not  be  mixed  with  it, 
but  when  only  a  small  quantity  of  material  is  needed 
it  can  be  taken  from  places  where  the  ballast  is  the 
heaviest  along  the  shoulder  of  the  track.  Whenever 
any  material  is  taken  from  a  grade  or  wasted  therein, 
such  places  should  be  leveled  off,  dressed  and  finished 
up  in  a  workmanlike  manner.  Never  leave  unsightly 
holes  along  the  track.  Both  sides  of  the  embankment 
should  be  of  the  same  width  outside  the  ties,  if  pos- 


GENERAL  FALL  TRACK  WORK  183 

sible,  and  grass  should  be  encouraged  to  grow  along 
the  slopes,  because  it  offers  the  best  protection  against 
weeds  and  washouts.  Section  foremen  should  not  at- 
tempt to  raise  up  track  on  high,  narrow  fills  in  order 
to  surface  it.  At  such  places  it  is  always  best  to 
pick  up  and  tamp  only  joints  or  other  low  places  in 
the  rail,  and  keep  the  track  in  good  line  until  you  can 
get  enough  dirt  or  ballast  to  leave  a  good  shoulder 
outside  the  ties  after  raising  up  the  track  to  surface. 

Haul  out  material  from  cuts.  Where  the  distance 
between  cuts  is  short,  and  the  fill  between  is  high 
and  narrow,  section  foremen  should  make  good  wide 
ditches  in  the  cuts,  haul  out  the  material  from  the 
ditches,  and  distribute  it  evenly  on  both  sides  of  the 
track.  This  work  should  be  done  either  early  in  the 
spring,  or  late  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  or  when  the 
facilities  for  doing  other  work  are  not  good. 

To  remedy  too  wide  an  opening  at  the  joints. 
Track  is  often  laid  with  too  wide  an  opening  at  the 
joints,  or  has  excessive  opening  at  certain  points  due 
to  rail  creeping,  and  as  a  result  the  ends  of  the  rails 
batter  down  very  quickly  and  the  joint  splices  often 
break  and  tear  apart,  owing  to  the  contraction  *of  the 
rails  in  extremely  cold  weather.  Track  foremen  who 
are  troubled  with  this  state  of  affairs  should  try  to 
remedy  it  at  once  in  the  following  manner: 

Loosen  the  bolts  in  forty  or  fifty  joints  and  pull  out 
slot  spikes  as  necessary,  then,  in  the  middle  of  this 
stretch  take  out  one  or  two  of  the  rails  on  each  side 
of  the  track.  Have  ready  to  replace  the  rails  that 
you  take  out,  one  or  two  rails  the  combined  length  of 
which  will  be  six  or  eight  inches  greater  than  that  of 
the  rails  removed,  allowing  this  length  to  be  a  little 
less  than  the  total  amount  necessary  for  closing  the 
joints.  Have  your  men  take  one  loose  rail,  and  bump 
back  the  track  rails  on  each  side  of  the  opening  until 
it  is  wide  enough  to  admit  of  putting  in  the  longer 


184  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

rails,  then  bolt  and  spike  the  rails  to  place,  dividing 
the  expansion  on  the  other  joints  afterwards. 

Follow  out  this  method  at  different  points  along 
your  section  wherever  j^ou  see  it  is  necessary,  and 
you  will  prevent  trouble  on  account  of  rails  tearing 
apart  in  cold  weather,  endangering  trains  and  increas- 
ing your  responsibility.  The  rails  will  wear  much 
longer,  and  you  can  keep  a  much  better  surface  on  the 
track.  Judgment  should  be  exercised  in  this  matter 
so  that  the  expansion  be  so  distributed  that  there  will 
be  no  danger  of  making  the  joints  too  tight  for  warm 
weather. 


XI 

BUILDING   FENCES 

Building  fences.— It  is  sometimes  the  duty  of  sec- 
tion foremen  to  build  fences  along  the  railroad  right 
of  way  limits;  and  as  there  are  many  foremen  who 
have  had  no  experience  in  this  branch  of  work,  it  will 
not  be  out  of  place  here  to  give  a  good,  practical 
method  for  performing  this  duty. 

Measure  with  a  tape  line  from  the  center  of  the 
track  to  the  right  of  way  limits,  and  set  a  stake  in 
the  ground.  This  should  be  the  outside  face  of  the 
fence  posts  when  set.  Where  the  track  is  straight 
these  measurements  need  be  taken  only  at  distances  of 
ten  or  fifteen  rods,  but  around  a  curve  they  should 
be  taken  every  fifty  or  one  hundred  feet,  in  order  to 
have  the  fence  conform  to  the  line  of  the  track. 

Peel  the  bark  from  all  fence  posts  and  set  their 
centers  sixteen  feet  apart,  when  not  otherwise  or- 
dered, so  that  boards  may  be  nailed  on  them  if  desired. 
To  line  the  fence  and  regulate  the  distance  between 
posts,  use  a  chain  or  line  two  hundred  feet  long  for 
straight  track,  and  one  hundred  feet,  or  less,  for  curve 
track.  Have  tin  tags  at  regular  distances  on  your 
chain,  or  tie  knots  in  the  line  to  mark  where  the 
center  of  each  post  hole  should  come,  and  when  the 
line  is  stretched  take  a  spade  and  remove  a  little  of 
the  sod  or  top  surface  of  the  ground  opposite  the 
marks  on  the  line  as  a  guide  for  the  men  digging  the 
post  holes.     The  line  may  then  be  moved  ahead. 

Set  all  posts  two  and  one-half  feet  in  the  ground 

185  ' 


186 


THE  THACKJMAN'S  HELPER 


and  have  the  men  who  are  digging  make  marks  on 
their  shovels  by  which  to  determine  the  correct 
depth  of  the  postholes,  and  thus  have  all  the  posts 
of  a  uniform  height  above  the  ground.  A  good  way 
to  save  sighting  along  straight  track  is  to  set  a  post 
every  ten  or  fifteen  rods  with  a  temporary  brace,  and 
stretch  one  wire  of  the  fence  to  use  as  a  guide. 

When  putting  on  wires,  if  you  are  not  furnished  a 
wire  stretcher,  they  may  be  tightened  by  taking  a 
turn  around  a  lining  bar.     Stick  the  point  of  the  bar 


A:^^^^ 

"^"^M,^ 


-•^W./^.^l 


Fig.  34.     Fence  Corner 

in  the  ground  diagonally  from  you,  and  pull  the  top 
of  bar  towards  you  and  downward.  In  this  way  you 
can  take  up  the  slack. 

Always  put  the  wire  on  the  farmer's  side  of  the 
fence  posts.  A  good  brace  should  be  put  in  at  the  end 
of  each  piece  of  fence,  or  at  any  point  where  the  fence 
turns  an  angle,  also  at  gates  and  cattle  guards.  See 
Figs.  34  and  35. 

Mortice  one  end  of  the  brace  into  the  top  of  the 
corner  post,  and  the  other  end  into  the  bottom  of  the 
post  adjoining,  where  it  enters  the  ground.     Provide 


BUILDING  FENCES 


187 


a  board  with  notches  cut  into  it  at  distances  equal  to 
the  proper  spaces  between  the  wires.  The  wires  may 
be  hung  in  the  notches,  and  the  board  will  keep  them 
in  position  while  they  are  being  fastened  to  the  posts. 

Have  the  men  well  organized.  Divide  a  gang  of 
sixteen  about  as  follows:  Assign  two  men  to  lay  out 
the  fence,  six  to  dig  post  holes,  four  to  set  the  posts, 
and  four  to  string  the  wires  and  fasten  them.  Move 
the  men  occasionally  from  parts  of  the  work  which 
are  the  most  advanced  to  parts  which  are  behind. 
When  crossing  creeks  or  marshy  places  it  is  well  to 


Fig.  35.     Standard   Fence 

turn  the  fence  in  at  right  angles  to  the  end  of  the 
bridge  and  string  the  wires  across  on  the  piles. 

Order  material  as  follows :  Fence  wire,  one  pound 
for  every  single  wire  panel  of  sixteen  feet ;  staples,  one 
and  three-fourths  pounds  for  each  hundred  pounds  of 
wire  used. 

"When  spacing  wires,  have  the  bottom  ones  the  closer 
together.  For  instance,  for  a  five-wire  fence  four 
and  one-half  feet  high,  place  bottom  wire  eight  inches 
above  the  ground;  the  second  wire  ten  inches  above 
the  first,  and  the  other  three  wires  each  twelve  inches 
above  the  last,  or  the  third  wire  from  the  bottom 
could  be  spaced  ten  inches  above  the  second,  and  the 
top  wire  fourteen  inches  above  the  fourth.  The  latter 
is  the  best  method  where  it  is  desirable  to  fence  against 


188  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

all  kinds  of  stock.  The  tops  of  fence  posts  should  not 
be  more  than  six  inches  above  the  top  wire  of  the 
fence,  and  all  posts  when  set  and  tamped  solid  should 
be  in  perfect  line  and  at  a  uniform  height  from  the 
ground.  When  posts  are  irregular  in  length,  the  sur- 
plus timber  should  be  sawed  off  if  it  amounts  to  four 
or  more  inches,  but  where  the  post  is  only  two  or  three 
inches  too  long,  the  hole  may  be  deepened  sufficiently 
to  leave  it  of  the  proper  height  when  set. 

If  a  post  is  two  or  three  inches  short  fill  up  the  hole 
sufficiently  to  bring  it  to  the  right  height  above  the 
ground,  but  should  it  be  as  much  as  six  inches  too 
short,  do  not  use  it  in  the  fence  except  at  some  place 
where  it  would  answer  for  a  short  brace.  To  regulate 
the  height  of  fence  post  above  the  ground,  have  a 
standard  made  of  the  correct  length,  and  nail  square 
across  the  bottom  of  it  a  cross  piece  two  feet  long, 
which  will  prevent  slight  inequalities  in  the  surface 
of  the  ground  from  affecting  the  height  when  placed 
beside  the  post.  This  standard  can  also  be  arranged 
to  regulate  the  distance  between  the  boards  or  wires  as 
they  are  nailed  on  the  fence. 

A  fence  with  the  top  wire  or  top  board  four  and 
one-half  feet  from  the  ground  is  a  lawful  fence  in 
most  of  the  States. 

Board  fences.  In  building  a  board  fence,  the  set- 
ting of  posts  and  nailing  on  of  the  boards  can  be  done 
at  the  same  time.  Always  use  the  shortest  boards  to 
measure  from  one  post  to  the  next  one  to  be  set;  the 
longer  boards  can  be  sawn  to  the  proper  length. 
Nail  the  boards  on  at  the  outside  of  the  fence.  Sev- 
eral men  can  be  nailing  on  boards  at  once,  ending 
the  boards  against  those  last  nailed  on  the  adjoining 
panel.  On  straight  track,  sighting  posts  can  be  set 
at  the  proper  distance  from  the  track,  every  forty  or 
sixty  rods  ahead  of  the  men  digging  the  post  holes, 
but  on  curve  track,  to  make  a  good  fence  and  have  it 


BUILDING  FENCES  189 

in  line,  every  panel  post  should  be  measured  from 
the  center  of  the  track,  and  a  stake  set  for  it.  This 
is  not  much  of  a  job,  if  two  men  go  along  the  track 
carrying  the  tape  line  stretched  from  place  to  place, 
while  a  third  man  sets  stakes  for  the  posts.  By  laying 
a  board  against  the  two  panel  posts,  it  lines  the  place 
for  the  middle  posts.  A  bracket,  made  the  proper 
height  from  the  ground  with  the  projections  on  it 
to  fit  between  the  boards,  making  the  spaces  the  cor- 
rect width,  is  very  handy  when  building  a  board 
fence.  It  makes  a  much  better  fence  than  when  the 
spacing  is  done  by  guess,  and  saves  measuring  the 
spaces. 

If  board  fence  is  built  with  the  boards  meeting  on 
the  same  side  of  the  post,  a  batten  should  be  nailed 
over  the  joint  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  post. 

For  a  permanent  snow  fence  constructed  with  posts 
and  boards,  the  posts  may  be  set  about  fifteen  feet  four 
inches  apart,  and  the  ends  of  the  boards  can  be  nailed 
on  opposite  sides  of  each  panel  post.  By  this  method 
there  is  a  larger  amount  of  the  board  available  for 
nailing  when  putting  them  up  again  after  being  torn, 
or  blown  off.  It  also  saves  the  labor  of  sawing  off  the 
ends  of  the  boards  to  make  them  meet  square  on  the 
post. 

The  following  table  will  be  useful  to  foremen, 
when  estimating  the  amount  of  fencing  material  re- 
quired to  build  a  board  or  wire  fence : 

Table  showing  number  of  posts  required. 


Distance 

No, 

.  Posts  in 

No.  Posts 

in 

No.  Post 

Between  Posts 

V 

i  Mile. 

i/o  Mile 

1  Mile 

8  feet. 

16G 

331 

661 

12     " 

111 

221 

441 

16     " 

83 

1G6 

331 

20     " 

67 

133 

265 

32     " 

42 

83 

166 

190  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Table  showing  the  number  of  boards  16'  long  re- 
quired. 

No.  of  Boards 

per  Panel.    One-fourth  Mile.  One-half  Mile.  One  Mile. 
4  boards  330  660  1320 


5 

4121/2 

825 

1650 

6 

495 

990 

1980 

7 

5771/2 

1155 

2310 

8 

660 

1320 

2640 

9 

7421/2 

1485 

2970 

0 

825 

1650 

3300 

One  6  inch  sixteen  foot  board  contains  eight  square 
feet  of  himber.  If  a  lumber  estimate  is  required, 
multiply  the  number  of  boards  wanted  by  eight,  and 
the  result  is  the  number  of  feet  board  measure  when 
one  inch  thick,  six  inches  wide  and  16  ft.  long. 

Example  : — 4  boards  per  panel  for  14  i^ile  of  track 
=  330  X  8  =  2,640  feet  B.  M.  of  lumber. 

Weight  of  nails. 

55,  10  penny,  common  nails,  weigh  one  pound. 

45,  12  penny,  common  nails,  weigh  one  pound. 

30,  10  penny,  fence  nails,  weigh  one  pound. 

28,  12  penny,  fence  nails,  weigh  one  pound. 

To  ascertain  the  amount  of  nails  wanted  to  build 
a  given  length  of  fence,  multiply  the  number  of  boards 
by  6,  and  divide  the  result  by  the  number  of  nails  to 
the  pound. 

Example: — For  14  mile  board  fence,  330  boards, 
4  per  panel ;  number  of  nails  per  board  6 ;  number  of 
fence  nails  per  pound  30 :  330  X  6  =  1980  ^  30 
==  66  lbs. 

Weight  of  fence  wire.  The  average  weight  of  the 
wire  now  used  by  railroads  is  very  close  to  one  pound 
per  rod  for  one  wire,  or  about  6  lbs.  per  100  feet  in 
length.  When  making  estimates  for  wire  fence,  about 
10  pounds  to  the  mile  of  fence  may  be  added  for  tying, 
splicing,  etc.  The  weight  of  staples  varies  according 
to  the  size  used.     Seventy  l^^   inch  staples  to  the 


BUILDING  FENCES  191 

pound  is  the  size  most  commonly  used  in  building  rail- 
road fence. 

A  day's  labor  for  one  man  at  building  post  and 
board  fence,  where  the  boards  meet  on  the  post,  six  to 
a  panel,  and  the  work  of  setting  the  posts  is  included, 
is  about  eight  to  ten  panels  of  fence  complete.  When 
the  ends  of  the  boards  lap  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
post,  thirteen  to  fifteen  panels  can  be  constructed  by 
one  man  in  a  day.  Building  a  post  and  wire  fence, 
posts  one  rod  apart,  and  four  strands  of  wire,  a  man 
can  construct  about  fifteen  panels  in  a  day;  but  a 
great  deal  depends  on  the  conditions  under  which  the 
work  is  performed,  the  quality  of  material  used,  and 
the  quality  or  general  excellence  of  the  work  when 
finished.  The  results  obtained  from  a  man's  labor  de- 
pend, first,  on  his  intelligence ;  next,  on  his  willingness 
to  work;  and  lastly,  on  his  physical  endurance. 
These  three  requisites  should  always  be  considered  by 
a  foreman  when  employing  men ;  and  when  possible  he 
should  always  choose  for  his  men  those  who  possess 
all  the  qualities  mentioned. 

Woven  wire  fences.  Barbed  wire  fences  are  gradu- 
ally being  replaced  by  woven  wire,  particularly  in  the 
East  and  in  populous  districts.  They  are  generally 
made  of  steel  wire  of  some  meshed  pattern,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  36,  and  are  fastened  to  posts  properly  an- 
chored in  the  ground.  The  advantages  of  a  woven 
wire  fence  are  that  it  can  be  made  to  fence  against  al- 
most any  stock,  besides  which  there  is  less  liability  to 
accident  than  with  the  barbed  wire  fence,  which  is 
often  injurious  to  stock.  The  woven  wire  fence  is  also 
readily  and  economically  constructed. 

Comparative  cost  and  serviceability  of  wood  and 
steel  fence  posts.  The  majority  of  American  rail- 
ways employ  wood  posts  for  right  of  way  fencing. 
Usually  the  kind  of  wood  employed  is  that  which  is 
native  to  the  locality  whether  or  not  it  is  a  wood  par- 


192 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


ticnlarly  suitable  for  such  service.  These  facts,  with 
some  discussion  of  the  life  and  cost  of  wood  fence 
posts  based  on  the  experience  of  some  44  American 
railways,  are  brought  out  by  the  report  of  a  special 
committee  of  the  American  Railway  Engineering  As- 
sociation in  1913.     We  summarize  a  part  of  this  re- 


CISTIICE 
lETHEEl 
llRS-litiEi 


Fig.  30.     American  Railroad  Fence 

port  and  in  particular  a  comparison  of  steel  and  wood 
posts : 

"Wood  posts..  From  the  data  collected  the  life  of 
wood  posts  of  various  kinds  actually  in  use  is  as 

follows : 

Years. 

Red   Cedar    7  to  25 

Cedar   10  to  30 


BUILDING  FENCES  193 

Years. 

White   Cedar    12  to  17 

Chestnut    10  to  15 

Locust    7  to  20 

Yellow  Locust    15  to  30 

Black  Locust 10  to  25 

\Vhite  Oak 7  to  15 

Bois  D'Arc    12  to  45 

Catalpa    10  to  25 

Juniper    15 

^Mulberry    15  to  20 

^'Doubtless  some  give  little  heed  to  the  particular 
species  of  the  timber  that  they  use,  aud  assume  that 
any  species  of  that  genus  has  about  the  same  life. 
This  is  manifestly  incorrect  as  is  demonstrated  by  the 
oak  family.  The  inferior  grades  of  oak  have  a  life 
only  of  from  2  to  4  years,  while  a  good  white  oak  has 
a  life  in  our  northern  climates  of  from  10  to  12  years 
at  least.  Certain  classes  of  oak  last  much  longer  in 
their  native  regions  than  in  other  localities  to  which 
they  are  transported  for  use.  This  principle  applies 
with  equal  force  to  every  other  class  of  timber. 

"In  reviewing  the  replies  of  the  various  roads  we 
find  that  the  consensus  of  opinion,  based  upon  expe- 
rience of  the  users,  is  that  the  cost  and  average  life 
of  the  different  classes  of  timber  are  as  indicated  be- 
low: 

Range.  Average.        Years. 

Red  Cedar    1.5c  to  25c  22c  18 

\Vhite  Cedar    12c  to  15c  14c  15 

Chestnut     10c  to  27c  20c  12 

Yellow  Locust  20c  to  38c  30c  20 

Black  Locust  15c  to  25c  20c  20 

White  Oak lie  to  40c  20c  10 

Bois   D*Arc    13c  to  17c  15c  25 

Catalpa   15c  to  25c  20c  15 

Juniper     6c  to  10c  8c  15 

Mulberry    13c  to  17c  15c  15 

Climatic  influences  have  an  important  bearing  upon 
this  phase  of  the  case,  and  may  lengthen  or  shorten 


194  THE  TEACKJNIAN'S  HELPER 

the  life  of  a  particular  kind  of  wood,  dependent  upon 
locality  in  which,  used.  It  is  not  feasible  in  most  cases 
to  recommend  any  particular  kind  of  timber  for  a 
given  territory,  as  the  source  of  supply  may  be  so 
distant  as  to  preclude  its  use  economically.  It  is  the 
prevailing  practice  to  use  such  timber  as  is  native  to 
the  country  and  thus  most  easily  obtainable. 

''It  will  be  observed  that  the  relative  cost  to  life 
of  post  ranges  from  %  ct.  to  2  cts.  per  year  of  life, 
the  Bois  D'Arc  and  the  Juniper  being  the  cheapest 
posts,  but  so  rare  that  a  more  general  use  is  impos- 
sible. 

''It  was  of  interest  to  know  to  what  extent  wooden 
posts  were  subject  to  destruction  by  fire.  Replies  re- 
ceived indicated  that  this  varied  by  from  1  per  cent 
to  5  per  cent,  with  the  exception  of  one  road  which 
reported  a  loss  of  30  per  cent  from  this  cause.  We 
think  it  fair  to  assume  that  the  average  loss  by  fire  is 
around  3  per  cent. 

* '  Steel  posts.  Only  two  roads  so  far  as  we  can  learn 
make  mention  of  having  used  any  metal  posts,  and 
then  but  to  a  limited  extent.  In  the  one  case  bar  iron 
1/4x2  ins.  was  used  and  in  the  other  old  boiler  tubes. 
We  have  reason  to  believe,  however,  that  quite  a  num- 
ber of  roads,  not  replying  to  our  circular,  are  trying 
out  a  proprietary  metal  post.  Several  styles  of  steel 
right-of-way  fence  posts  are  on  the  market.  Their 
exploitation  has  just  begun  in  the  last  year  or  two, 
and  any  statement  as  to  their  efficiency  and  economy 
could  be  but  vague  and  from  the  manufacturers' 
standpoint  alone.  Greater  experience  may  demon- 
strate their  utility,  but  thus  far  we  have  no  data  upon 
them,  and  can  only  give  some  computations  from  one 
of  the  manufacturers,  which  might  be  of  interest  for 
study  from  the  viewpoint  of  railroad  economy.  These 
figures,  while  prepared  for  a  certain  style  of  post  only, 
if  reliable,  will  no  doubt  be  equally  accurate  for  any 


BUILDING  FENCES  195 

other  style  of  metal  post,  built  along  similar  lines,  and 
others  are  generally  so  designed.  In  order  that  the 
membership  may  have  the  manufacturers'  explanation 
of  the  merits  of  the  steel  post  for  their  further  con- 
sideration, we  give  the  statement  of  the  case  in  sub- 
stance, according  to  one  with  whom  we  have  had  the 
matter  under  discussion : 

Steel  posts  cost  23.03  cents 

Cost  of  settino^ 1.30  cents 


o 


Total    24.33  cents 

Estimated  life    30  years 

"Based  upon  above  figures,  steel  posts  set  one  rod 
ap"art  cost  0.81  cents  per  year. 

''The  cost  of  setting  wood  posts  is  estimated  at  5.8 
cts.  each.  The  following  table  is  based  on  wood  posts 
costing  from  nothing  up  to  20  cts.  each,  and  is  in- 
tended to  show  what  the  life  of  wood  posts  must  be  at 
different  first  costs  to  be  as  cheap  as  the  steel  posts : 

Years  it  must 
Cost  of  Cost  of  Total  last  to  be  as 

post.  setting.  cost.  cheap  as  steel. 

Cents.  Cents.  Cents.  Years. 

0  5.8  5.8  7.1 

5  5.8  10.8  .     13.3 

8  5.8  13.8  17. 

10  5.8  15.8  19.5 

12  5.8  17.8  21.9 

15  5.8  20.8  25.6 

17  5.8  22.8  28.1 

18.53  5.8  24.33  30. 

20  5.8  25.8  31.8 

''The  above  figures  would  indicate  that  wood  posts 
costing  15  cts.  would  have  to  have  a  life  of  25.6  years 
and  those  costing  20  cts.  a  life  of  31.8  years  to  be  as 
cheap  as  steel. 

' '  The  first  steel  posts  are  said  to  have  been  manufac- 
tured about  15  years  ago  at  Bloomfield,  Ind.     Others, 


196  THE  TRACKJSIAN'S  HELPER 

doubtless,  of  different  design  unknown  to  the  Com- 
mittee were  manufactured  as  long  ago  and  perhaps 
longer,  but  only  during  the  past  twelve  years  have 
they  been  given  any  serious  study  with  a  view  to 
placing  them  on  the  market  for  ordinary  right-of-way 
fencing.  Hundreds  were  taken  up  and  examined  to 
discover  signs  of  rust  and  deterioration  at  ground  line 
or  elsewhere.  They  have  been  in  use  at  Spencer, 
Worthington,  Bloomfield,  Ind.,  and  elsewhere  in  all 
kinds  of  soil  and  under  all  conditions.  The  investiga- 
tions have  resulted  in  placing  them  on  the  market 
during  the  past  year  or  so. 

*'To  be  of  economic  w^orth  for  right-of-way  pro- 
tection, a  fence  post  must  possess  the  following  quali- 
ties: Durability,  practicability,  efficiency,  and  the 
price  must  be  right.  Inquiry  develops  that  one  man 
can  set  in  a  day  from  15  to  35  wooden  line  posts.  To 
be  conservative,  30  posts  per  day  per  man  is  assumed 
as  the  unit  of  work.  Estimating  wages  at  $1.75  per 
day  places  the  cost  of  setting  a  wood  post  at  5.8  cts. 
The  cost  of  post  is  estimated  at  12  cts.,  resulting  in  an 
entire  outlay  of  17.8  cts.  Experience  demonstrated 
that  three  men  can  readily  set  from  390  to  640  steel 
posts  per  day,  or  130  to  213  per  man — 130  posts  per 
man  is  taken  as  the  basis  of  calculation  with  wages  at 
$1.75  per  day.  This  places  the  cost  for  setting  a  steel 
post  at  1.3  cts.,  cost  of  steel  post  23.03  cts.,  plus  cost 
of  setting  1.3  cts.,  resulting  in  entire  outlay,  24.33  cts." 

Reinforced  concrete  posts  and  sig^s.  Mr.  E.  F. 
Robinson,  Chief  Engineer  and  Mr.  G.  H.  Stewart, 
blaster  Mason  of  the  B.  R.  &  P.  Railroad,  have  fur- 
nished some  Yerj  interesting  and  valuable  data  in  re- 
gard to  the  manufacture  of  reinforced  signs  and  posts, 
which  were  published  in  the  November,  1914,  issue  of 
Railway  Engineering  and  ^Maintenance  of  Way,  and 
the  June  18,  1915,  issue  of  Railway  Age  Gazette,  from 
the  latter  of  which  the  following  description  is  taken : 


BUILDING  FENCES  197 


i  i  mi 


This  road  operates  a  plant  at  East  Salamanca,  N. 
Y.,  for  the  manufacture  of  these  articles.  Concrete 
fence  posts  are  used  universally,  except  in  swamps 
and  in  places  where  there  is  a  liability  of  slides,  and 
since  their  adoption  with  the  necessary  concrete 
corner  posts  and  braces  they  have  proved  very  satis- 
factory. The  company  plant  has  manufactured  about 
15,000  of  these  posts,  500  concrete  mile  posts,  600  con- 
crete property  line  posts  and  100  concrete  whistle 
posts.  In  addition,  concrete  signal  foundations,  con- 
crete telephone  booths  and  concrete  pipe  of  various 
sizes  are  made  at  this  plant. 

''The  post  and  sign  plant  is  housed  in  a  one-story 
building  90  ft.  long  and  19  ft.  wide  with  an  available 
floor  space  of  1,496  sq.  ft.  Coils  of  steam  pipe  are 
located  under  the  concrete  floor  and  along  the  sides 
of  the  building  for  heating,  and  a  stationary  boiler 
is  provided  in  one  corner  to  furnish  the  necessary 
steam.  The  cement  to  be  used  is  stored  in  one  end  of 
the  building,  securely  partitioned  off  to  keep  it  per- 
fectly dry.  The  balance  of  the  building  is  used  for 
the  manufacture  and  curing  of  the  posts  and  signs, 
which  are  stored  here  until  required  for  use.  No 
special  equipment  is  required  in  this  work  other  than 
ordinary  concrete  mixing  tools,  as  the  concrete  is 
mixed  by  hand  except  in  a  few  instances  when  a  large 
amount  is  to  be  placed,  requiring  the  use  of  a  mixer 
to  keep  a  supply  on  hand.  The  building  is  served  by 
tracks  along  each  side,  allowing  material  to  be  un- 
loaded and  the  manufactured  articles  to  be  loaded 
with  ease. 

''The  designs  of  the  principal  signs  and  posts  are 
illustrated  in  the  accompanying  drawings.  The  right 
of  way  fence  posts  are  of  the  tapered  T-section  type 
8  ft.  long.  The  flange  is  6%  in.  wide  and  IVo  in. 
thick  at  the  bottom  and  4%  in.  wide  and  1  in.  thick 
at  the  top,  while  the  stem  is  6^/^  in.  deep  and  2l^  in. 


198 


THE  TRACIOIAN'S  HELPER 


thick  at  the  base 
thick  at  the  top. 
pieces  of  i/4-in. 
being  placed  in 
wire  is  attached 
wires,  wrapped 
each  side  of  the 


tapering  to  2i/2  in.  deep  and  1%  in. 
The  reinforcement  consists  of  three 
round  bars  7  ft.  6  in.  long,  one  bar 

each  corner  of  the  post.  The  line 
to  these  posts  by  No.  7  soft  steel  tie 
three  times  around  the  line  wire  on 

flange  of  the  post.     These  wires  are 


.x.t 
Property  Line  Post 

Fig. 


Station  WhistlePosx 


Mile  Post 


37.     Details    of    Concrete    Sign    Posts 


pulled  tight  to  bite  into  the  corners  of  the  posts,  thus 
preventing  slipping. 

''The  corner  posts  are  6  in.  square  and  8  ft.  long. 
Notches  11^  in.  deep  are  cast  6  in.  from  the  top  and 
3  ft.  6  in.  from  the  bottom  of  these  posts  in  which 
the  diagonal  corner  post  braces  are  set,  and  a  slot 
2  in.  by  4  in.  is  provided  through  the  post  6  in.  from 
the   bottom,   into  which   short   anchor  bars  'can   be 


BUILDING  FENCES  199 

placed  at  right  angles  to  the  fence  line.  All  corners 
on  these  posts  are  rounded  off  to  a  ^  in.  radius.  The 
reinforcement  consists  of  four  i^  in.  round  bars  7  ft. 
6  in.  long.  Five  of  these  posts  are  placed  at  each 
corner  on  7  ft.  6  in.  centers,  thoroughly  braced  and 
tied.  The  braces  used  with  these  corner  posts  are  8 
ft.  2%  in.  long  and  4  in.  square,  with  mitered  ends 
to  fit  into  the  notches  provided  in  the  corner  posts. 
These  braces  are  also  reinforced  with  four  i/4  in.  round 
bars  7  ft.  6  in.  long,  and  all  corners  are  rounded  to  a 
14  in.  radius. 

' '  The  property  line  posts,  which  are  set  on  all  prop- 
erty corners,  opposite  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  all 
curves  and  at  1,000  ft.  intervals  on  tangents,  are  5  in. 
square  at  the  top  and  7  in.  square  at  the  bottom  with 
a  length  of  5  ft.  They  are  set  in  the  ground  3  ft. 
On  one  side  of  the  post  are  moulded  the  letters  *B.  R. 
&  P.  By.,'  and  on  the  opposite  side  are  the  letters 
'PROPERTY  LINE.'  These  letters  are  2  in.  high. 
The  side  of  the  post  with  the  latter  lettering  is  placed 
toward  the  main  track  whenever  possible.  The  post 
is  reinforced  with  four  pieces  of  %  in.  twisted  steel 
bars  4  ft.  6  in.  long.  The  corners  of  the  post  are 
rounded  to  a  1  in.  radius. 

"The  concrete  whistle  posts,  which  are  set  on  the 
engineer's  side  of  the  track  1320  ft.  from  highway 
crossings  and  7  ft.  6  in.  from  the  near  side  of  the  post 
to  gage  side  of  the  near  rail,  are  9  ft.  6  in.  long,  6  in. 
wide  and  4  in.  thick  at  the  bottom  and  12  in.  wide  and 
4  in.  thick  at  the  top.  The  latter  width  is  only  main- 
tained for  a  length  of  151/2  in.  to  provide  room  for 
the  letter  'W. '  These  posts  are  set  in  the  ground 
3  ft.  6  in.  The  letter  is  714  in.  high,  %  in.  deep  and 
1^/4  ill-  wide  and  is  placed  only  on  one  side  of  the 
post,  the  other  side  being  left  blank.  This  post  is 
reinforced  with  four  pieces  of  I/2  in.  twisted  steel 
bars,  8  ft.  2  in.  long  and  the  corners  are  rounded  to  a 


200 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


%  in.  radiiis.  Station  whistle  posts  are  identical  with 
those  described  except  that  a  line  8  in.  long  is  cast 
under  the  letter  'W. '  These  signs  are  placed  i/4  mi. 
from  stations. 

''The  concrete  mile  posts  are  made  in  two  widths, 
one  for  one  or  two  figures  and  one  for  three  figures. 
The  former  are  6  in.  thick  and  12  in.  wide  and  the 
latter  6  in.  thick  and  IJ:  in.  wide.  All  are  8  ft.  6  in. 
long  with  the  upper  4  in.  rounded  off  from  the  edges 
to  the  center.     The  figures,  which  are  6  in.  high,  are 


No.  7  scff  sfeef  wire. 


FeMccPosT. 

Fig.  38. 


'■      C  I. 

/'rence  oar 


^Concrete  brace>. 


\  ^Corner pas f^\ ! 


Elevation  ofFcs/cc 


!i 


CoPNEff  Post. 


Details    of   Line    and    Corner    Fence    Posts 
and   Braces 


set  into  the  posts  between  two  horizontal  lines  %  in. 
wide  placed  14  in.  and  26  in.,  respectively,  from-  the 
top  of  the  post.  Both  sides  of  the  post  are  made  the 
same.  The  reinforcement  consists  of  four  pieces  of 
%  in.  twisted  steel  bars  8  ft.  long  and  the  corners  are 
rounded  to  a  1  in.  radius.  These  posts  are  set  3  ft. 
6  in.  in  the  ground,  and  are  placed  10  ft.  from  the 
center  of  the  post  to  the  gage  side  of  the  near  rail 
on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  track  going  south  from 
Buffalo  and  Rochester.  They  are  used  both  on  the 
main  line  and  branches. 


BUILDIXG  FENCES  201 

* '  A  mixture  of  1  part  cement  and  3  parts  fine  gravel 
is  used  in  the  fence  posts,  corner  posts,  and  corner 
post  braces,  while  a  1 :2 :4  concrete  mixture  is  used  in 
the  other  cases.  The  fence  posts  are  cast  in  gang 
moulds  of  30  each,  mounted  on  trucks.  Three  of 
these  batteries  are  used,  giving  a  capacity  of  90  posts 
at  one  pouring.  The  other  posts  and  signs  described 
are  moulded  in  wooden  forms  made  of  2  in.  surfaced 
yellow  pine,  the  parts  of  the  moulds  being  fastened 
together  by  hinges  and  hasps  in  all  cases,  except  the 
mile  post  form,  which  is  clamped  in  position.  In 
all  cases  the  forms  are  constructed  so  that  they  can 
be  readily  removed  from  the  posts  after  the  concrete 
has  set  sufficiently,  which  is  about  48  hours.  After 
removing  the  posts  from  the  forms  they  are  placed  on 
end  along  timber  racks  outside  of  the  building  for 
one  week  to  cure  properly.  During  this  time  they 
are  sprinkled  once  a  day,  or  as  often  as  necessary,  and 
covered  to  protect  them  from  the  action  of  the 
weather.  At  the  end  of  the  week,  or  when  they  are 
strong  enough  to  permit  them  to  be  removed,  they  are 
corded  up  in  a  pile  ready  for  shipment.  During  the 
winter  they  are  treated  in  much  the  same  manner  with 
the  exception  that  they  are  not  taken  out  of  the  build- 
ing until  thoroughly  cured.  The  building  is  kept  at 
an  even  temperature  of  60  deg.  After  the  posts  are 
removed  from  the  forms,  the  latter  are  thoroughly 
cleaned  and  sparingly  coated  over  with  fuel  oil  to 
prevent  the  concrete  from  sticking  to  the  form  when 
being  removed.  In  the  case  of  the  property  line 
post  and  the  whistle  post  the  surface  of  the  concrete 
is  rubbed  down  to  a  true,  even,  uniform  surface  as 
soon  as  the  form  is  removed,  using  a  small  briquette 
and  clean  water.  This  briquette  is  made  of  1  part 
of  cement  and  2  parts  of  sand  mixed  with  clean 
water. 

**The  letters  used  on  these  posts  are  V  shaped  and 


202  THE  TRACK:MAN'S  HELPER 

indented  into  the  concrete,  the  indentation  being 
painted  black  in  the  case  of  the  whistle  and  mile  posts. 
An  advantage  of  this  type  of  letter  is  that  it  elimi- 
nates the  necessity  for  restenciling  the  posts  from  time 
to  time.  In  the  case  of  the  whistle  post  the  letter 
*W  and  the  line,  when  it  is  used,  are  fastened  to  the 
bottom  of  the  forms  and  the  post  made  face  down. 
The  figures  and  the  cross  lines  on  one  side  of  the 
mile  posts  are  secured  to  the  forms,  while  the  corre- 
sponding depressions  for  the  other  side  of  the  posts 
are  moulded  into  the  concrete  from  the  exposed  sur- 
face while  it  is  in  the  form.  The  weights  and  de- 
tailed cost  of  manufacture  of  these  various  posts 
and  signs  are  shown  on  the  accompanying  table." 

Cost 


t 

Material 

^ 

Cement     Aggregate     R 

einforcement 

y 

K 

A 

Weight          Amount 

\^ 

Amount          Amount 

Total 

lin. 

matl. 

Total 

lb. 

Labor  Sacks 

Cost 

cuft. 

Cost 

ft.      Cost 

cost 

cost 

Fence  post.    87.5 

$0,055 

0.30 

$0.07 

0.623 

$0.02 

22.5   $0.09 

$0.18 

$0.23 

Corner  post  285 

0.18 

0.81 

0.19 

1.90 

0.05 

30.0      0.12 

0.36 

0.54 

Corner  post 

brace     . .146 

0.15 

0.355 

0.08 

0.875 

0.03 

30.0      0.12 

0.23 

0.38 

Property 

line  post. 202 

0.50 

0.29 

0.07 

1.65 

0.05 

18.0      0.18 

0.30 

0.80 

Whistle 

post    . . .  .410 

1.00 

0.41 

0.09 

2.31 

0.07 

36.66   0.37 

0.53 

1.53 

12-in.  mile 

post      . . .560 

0.80 

0.88 

0.20 

5.64 

0.17 

32.00   0.32 

0.69 

1.49 

14-in.  mile 

post      .  . .690 

0.80 

1.15 

0.26 

6.63 

0.20 

32.00   0.32 

0.78 

1.58 

Method  of  molding  reinforced  concrete  fence 
posts.  A  reinforced  concrete  post  plant  having  a 
capacity  of  400  posts  per  day  is  being  successfully 
operated  by  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  R.  R. 
The  method  of  molding  fence  posts  at  this  plant  is 
outlined  in  a  paper  by  ]\Ir.  L.  J.  Hotchkiss,  Assistaoit 
Bridge  Engineer,  before  the  National  Association  of 
Cement  Users.     It  is  stated  that  while  not  enough 


BUILDING  FENCES  203 

posts  have  been  made  to  determine  the  minimum  cost 
possible,  it  seems  certain  that  it  will  be  low  enough  to 
compete  with  the  price  of  cedar  posts.  The  rein- 
forced concrete  post  cannot,  however,  be  so  roughly 
handled.  It  is  in  no  sense  fragile  and  has  ample 
strength  to  withstand  all  fence  loads,  but  some  care 
must  be  exercised  not  to  cause  cracking  by  throwing 
about. 

Turning  now  to  the  manufacture  and  use  of  the 
posts,  we  abstract  from  Mr.  Hotchkiss'  paper  as  fol- 
lows: "Figure  39  is  a  view  of  the  post  machine. 
The  measuring  apparatus  consists  of  two  hoppers,  one 
for  gravel  and  one  for  cement.  A  small  conveyor  un- 
derneath the  hoppers  feeds  the  two  materials  in  proper 
proportions  into  a  small  elevator  boot.  From  this  it 
is  hoisted  by  a  chain  of  elevator  buckets  and  dropped 
into  the  mixer  at  the  top  of  the  machine. 

"The  mixer  is  a  large  shallow  bowl  with  a  concave 
bottom.  A  number  of  paddles  rotate  in  this  bowl 
and  mix  the  concrete,  water  being  sprayed  on  it  from 
a  perforated  pipe.  In  the  bottom  of  the  mixer  is  a 
hole  which  is  closed  by  a  form  of  gate  valve,  and 
through  which  concrete  is  discharged  into  the  molds 
below.  Under  the  mixer  is  a  turntable  arrangement 
which  holds  four  molds  at  a  time.  There  is  also  a 
jolting  device  so  arranged  that  as  each  mold  is  being 
filled  it  is  alternately  raised  and  dropped  through  a 
distance  of  perhaps  an  inch.  This  tamps  the  concrete 
effectually  and  insures  a  smooth  finish. 

"Two  forms  of  reinforcement  are  used.  The  one 
which  was  used  last  year  is  made  from  sheets  of  No. 
24  or  No.  26  black  iron.  The  sheets  are  passed 
through  a  machine  which  cuts  out  half  the  reinforce- 
ment for  a  post  at  each  pass.  At  the  same  time  long 
slits  are  cut  in  the  iron  and  the  edges  of  the  slits 
turned  up.  Two  strips  of  this  material  are  inserted 
in  the  mold  to  form  the  reinforcement  for  one  post. 


204 


THE  TRACIO^IAN'S  HELPER 


'^It  has  not  been  altogether  satisfactory,  however; 
if  the  concrete  material  is  a  bit  too  coarse  it  does  not 
run  through  the  slits  readily  and  the  posts  are  not 
well  filled.  The  reinforcement  also  has  a  tendency 
to  get  out  of  place  during  filling  and  is  occasionally 
found  to  be  near  the  center  of  the  post  instead  of  at 
the  outside. 


Fig.    39.     View   of    Concrete   Post   Machine 

*' Figure  40  shows  an  improved  style  of  reinforce- 
ment now  coming  into  use.  It  is  made  entirely  of 
wire,  each  wire  being  crimped  to  insure  a  bond  with 
the  concrete.  The  material  is  shipped  knocked  down, 
as  shown  at  the  left  of  the  photograph,  and  is  quickly 
made  up  into  the  cages  shown  at  the  center.  The 
wires  may  be  of  such  size  as  needed  to  give  the  re- 


Fig.  40.     View   of   Reinforcement   for   Concrete   Posts,   Shown 
in  Bundle  for  Shipping  and  Ready  for  Placing  in  Mold 

205      ' 


20G  THE  TRACiaiAN'S  HELPER 

quired  strength.  The  concrete  flows  around  this  re- 
inforcement without  obstruction. 

''As  the  posts  are  taken  out  of  the  machine  they 
are  placed  on  a  push  car.  In  cold  weather  they  are 
stored  in  the  house  for  a  few  days  before  being  taken 
out  of  doors.  In  warm  weather  they  are  stored  in- 
doors or  out,  as  may  be  most  convenient.  They  are 
removed  from  the  molds  a  day  or  two  after  being 
made  and  stored  against  the  heavy  timber  racks  until 
ready  for  shipment  or  until  they  are  strong  enough 
to  be  corded  up  in  piles.  For  a  week  after  being 
removed  from  the  molds  they  are  thoroughly  wet 
down  once  a  day  and  in  summer  they  are  protected 
from  the  sun  by  tarpaulins. 

''The  methods  of  attaching  the  wire  fencing  to  the 
concrete  posts  are  illustrated  by  Figs.  41  and  42. 

"Figure  41  illustrates  the  post  and  also  the  method 
of  fastening  the  wires  to  the  posts.  By  reference  to 
the  cross  sections  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  groove 
in  one  side  of  the  post  and  that  the  holes  through 
the  posts  are  offset,  being  smaller  on  the  grooved  side 
of  the  post.  These  holes  are  of  such  a  size  that  a 
ten  penny  nail  can  be  pushed  through  them  until  the 
head  brings  up  against  the  offset.  The  fence  wire 
is  then  placed  on  top  of  the  projecting  end  of  the 
nail  and  the  latter  bent  up  around  the  wire  until  its 
point  is  curled  back  into  the  groove,  thus  holding  the 
wire  tight  against  the  post.  This  work  is  done  with 
a  small  tool  which  is  shown  in  successive  positions  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  drawing.  This  is  a  very  cheap 
and  effective  fastening.  One  difficulty  has  developed 
in  connection  with  it,  however.  The  pins  with  which 
the  holes  through  the  post  are  made  are  necessarily 
all  alike.  The  post  is  tapered.  As  a  result  the  small 
part  of  the  hole  through  which  the  shank  of  the  nail 
passes  is  longer  nearer  the  bottom  of  the  post  than 
at  the  top.     Consequently  the  nails  at  the  top  stick 


BUILDING  FENCES 


207 


out  too  far  and  when  bent  around  the  fence  wire  the 
points  strike  the  bottom  of  the  groove  and  make  it 
difficult  to  pull  the  wire  up  close  to  the  post.  A 
tapered  strip  is  now  attached  to  the  outside  of  the 
mold  under  the  heads  of  the  pins.  It  is  of  such  a 
thickness  that  the  offset  in  the  holes  is  a  uniform  dis- 
tance from  the  grooved  side  of  the  post  and  all  nails 


P05t- 


Post-, 


Post-;- 


Noil 
5troight 


Tool-:. 


^Wire 


Nail 
''Half  Bent) 


Noil 
^fuliij  dent) 

-► 


J 

.6 


ft-V  M'"\ 


-9 


^r 


^ 


Tool  for  ro5fening  Wire 


^^lOd  Wire  Nail 
Cro55  5ectionofPo5t 

Fig.  41.     Method   of    Fastening   Wire   on    Grooved   Posts 

project  the  correct  distance  to  insure  proper  fasten- 
ing of  the  wire. 

"Another  method  of  fastening  the  wires  is  shown 
in  Fig.  42.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  hole  through  the 
post  is  of  uniform  diameter  and  a  piece  of  wire  with 
one  end  doubled  back  is  substituted  for  the  nail.  The 
other  end  of  the  wire  projects  at  the  back  of  the  post, 
and  by  means  of  the  tool  shown  this  is  twisted  up 
into  a  cork  screw.     The  fastening  has  not  yet  been 


208 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


tried  out  in  practice,  but  its  use  on  an  experimental 
post  seems  to  indicate  that  it  is  simple  and  efficient. 
It  was  designed  for  use  with  a  round  post  having  no 
groove.  As  our  molds  are  all  grooved,  we  expect  to 
use  it  with  this  type  of  post. 

*'The  post   molding  machine  is  made  by  the  Na- 
tional   Concrete    Machinery    Co.,    of    Madison,    Wis. 


Concrete 
Post, 


Wire- 


Fasfenmg  Wire   ^^^^,^,,^,3, 


'•-Reinforcement 


Fastening 
-      Wire 


^"■/?5^ 


^4? 


VP 


>i  / "    1 


# 


Eng  &  Contg 


Fig.  42.     Method   of    Fastening   Wire   on    Round   Posts 

From  information  furnished  by  this  company  we  find 
that  the  machine  requires  three  men  for  its  operation, 
one  man  to  shovel  in  the  material,  one  man  to  take 
away  posts  and  put  on  empty  molds,  and  one  to  op- 
erate the  machine.  These  men,  it  is  stated,  should 
make  40  posts  per  hour. 

"If  operated  in  a  sand  pit  so  as  to  save  the  cost 
of  moving  sand  the  posts  should  be  produced  at  a 
cost  of  15  to  20  cts.  each,  including  the  five  wire  re- 
inforcement which  costs  a  fraction  less  than  7  cts. 
per  post. 


>  > 


XII 

GENERAL   WINTER   WORK 

General  repairs.  There  are  many  kinds  of  track 
work  which  should  be  done  during  the  winter  months, 
all  of  which  are  important  and  assist  materially  to 
lighten  and  advance  the  work  of  the  following  spring 
and  summer. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  winter,  when  the  cold 
weather  has  contracted  the  rails,  its  effect  on  the 
rail  joints  should  be  noticed  by  the  foreman ;  all  loose 
bolts  should  be  tightened  up,  and  broken  or  cracked 
joints  replaced  by  good  ones. 

All  open  joints  should  be  closed  to  the  proper 
space  and  battered  rails  taken  out  of  the  track  and 
replaced  by  good  ones. 

Cleaning  switches  and  yard  tracks,  and  flanging 
out  of  the  main  track  after  snow  storms,  shimming 
track,  distributing  ties  for  spring  work,  opening  up 
ditches  and  culverts,  etc.,  all  add  to  the  section  fore- 
man's labor,  and  it  requires  a  man  of  good  judgment 
and  energy  to  keep  all  of  his  work  done  properly  at 
the  right  time  and  place. 

If  the  foreman  keeps  the  loose  spikes  driven  down 
to  place  and  good  gage  on  his  track,  he  will  be  sur- 
prised at  the  splendid  line  which  he  can  have  on  his 
track  the  following  summer,  and  trains  will  ride  over 
it  without  that  disagreeable  side  motion  of  the  cars 
which  spoils  the  line  and  surface  of  his  track,  and  is 
not  conducive  to  the  comfort  of  passengers. 

Shimming  track  is  a  very  important  kind  of  win- 

209 


210  THE  TRACK^IAN'S  HELPER 

ter  work  on  northern  railroads,  and  should  be  done 
with  a  view  to  keeping  straight  track  level,  smooth 
and  safe,  and  the  proper  elevation  of  the  outer  rails 
on  curves. 

Shims  are  placed  under  the  track  rails  to  raise  up 
the  low  places  to  a  good  surface.  All  shims  should 
have  holes  bored  through  them  for  the  track  spikes. 
This  can  be  done  by  boring  the  holes  through  a  block 
of  straight-grained  hard  wood,  six  inches  wide  by  ten 
inches  long,  and  splitting  off  the  shims  as  thick  as 
needed.  On  account  of  the  difficulty  of  finding  such 
wood  in  many  parts  of  the  countr}?-  it  is  best  to  have 
this  work  done  in  shops  where  odd  pieces  of  timber 
may  be  utilized  for  making  shims,  which  can  be  sawed 
and  bored  to  better  advantage  there  than  on  the  road. 

The  top  surface  of  the  track  tie  should  be  adzed 
off  level,  especially  when  there  is  a  groove  made  by 
the  rail.  This  is  necessary  to  give  the  rails  a  solid 
foundation,  preserve  the  correct  surface,  and  prevent 
the  shims  from  breaking.  Shims  should  never  be 
placed  lengthwise  under  the  rails,  because  in  that  po- 
sition they  increase  the  height  of  the  rail  without  wid- 
ening its  base. 

Where  shims  are  used,  rail  braces  should  be  applied 
against  the  outside  of  the  rail  at  every  second,  third 
or  fourth  tie,  in  proportion  to  the  height  of  the  shims. 

High  shimming  of  track  is  now  obsolete  and  the 
necessity  for  it  should  be  guarded  against  by  pro- 
viding a  remedy  in  the  way  of  improving  the  ballast, 
drainage,  etc.,  to  remove  the  cause  of  heaving  track. 

All  shimmed  track  should  be  watched  closely,  and 
thinner  shims  be  used  to  replace  the  thicker  ones  as 
fast  as  the  heaved  track  settles  in  the  spring.  Shims 
should  not  be  removed  from  the  track  until  all  heav- 
ing has  gone  down.  When  the  rail  under  which  there 
are  shims  is  higher  than  the  track  each  side  of  it  by 
the  thickness  of  the  shims,  you  may  remove  them  as 


GENERAL  WINTER  WORK  211 

the  heaving  has  all  gone  out  of  the  ground.  Many 
foremen  have  spoiled  nice  pieces  of  track  by  remov- 
ing the  shims  and  tamping  the  ties  as  soon  as  the  frost 
was  out  to  the  bottom  of  the  ties.  All  good  shims, 
shim  spikes  and  braces  should  be  put  away  in  the  tool 
house  every  spring  and  saved  for  use  another  year. 

Heaved  bridges  and  culverts.  Pile  bridges  need 
careful  watching  in  the  winter  season,  and  whenever 
they  are  found  heaved  up  out  of  surface  or  line  the 
bridge  carpenters  should  be  promptly  notified.  In 
some  bridges  and  culverts  the  piles  which  have  heaved 
must  be  cut  off,  and  that  part  of  the  bridge  or  the 
culvert  lowered  to  correspond  with  the  track  on  either 
side  of  it.  Unlike  the  track  in  cuts  or  on  fills,  some 
piles  which  heave  up  in  the  winter  do  not  settle  back 
to  place  again  when  the  frost  goes  out  of  the  ground, 
and  shims  must  be  put  under  the  caps  or  stringers 
to  keep  the  bridges  up  to  surface  during  the  summer. 
The  greatest  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  where  the 
piles  in  a  bridge  heave  up  irregularly,  as  when  only 
one  or  two  piles  heave  in  a  bent,  or  when  the  piles 
heave  up  in  opposite  corners  of  two  different  bents. 
This  often  happens  when  the  piles  are  driven  in  deep 
water,  as  the  ice  which  freezes  to  them  lifts  them 
up  and  should,  therefore,  always  be  cut  away  by  the 
trackmen  before  there  is  danger  of  its  doing  so. 

Report  amount  of  snow.  Section  foremen  should 
ascertain  the  condition  of  the  track  in  their  charge 
immediately  after  every  snow  storm,  or  wind  storm 
that  is  likely  to  drift  snow  upon  the  track,  and  report 
the  depth  and  length  of  snow  drifts  in  all  the  cuts 
on  their  sections.  It  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  snow  reports  be  sent  promptly  by  telegraph  in 
order  that  the  officers  of  the  road  may  be  able  to 
make  necessary  preparations  to  clear  the  track. 

Snow  on  side  tracks.  Section  foremen  should  clear 
away  the  snow  that  has  drifted  upon  side  tracks  as 


212  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

soon  as  possible  after  a  storm,  and  the  snow  on 
switches  and  in  frogs  and  guard  rails  should  be  shov- 
eled off  as  necessary.  This  work  should  never  be  de- 
layed as  trainmen  may  need  to  use  the  switches  at  any 
time. 

Snow  in  cuts.  During  the  winter  months  when 
snow  falls  or  is  drifted  into  cuts  to  a  depth  of  two 
or  more  feet,  section  foremen  should  take  their  men 
just  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  storm  and  remove 
from  the  track  sufficient  snow  at  the  ends  of  all  drifts 
to  leave  a  clean  flange  and  a  clear  face  of  snow,  at 
least  eighteen  inches  deep,  at  both  the  approach  and 
run-out  ends  of  the  drift.  It  is  a  fact  that  a  great 
many  engines,  when  bucking  snow,  run  off  the  track 
when  coming  out  of,  or  running  into  a  snow  drift. 
This  is  generally  caused  by  hard  snoAV  or  ice  in  the 
flanges.  On  being  suddenly  relieved  of  the  resistance 
of  the  snow  the  truck  wheels  sometimes  mount  the 
rail  on  a  hard  flange-way  and  are  derailed. 

Flanging  track.  Whenever  the  track  becomes  full 
of  snow  in  the  winter  it  is  necessary  to  flange  it  out. 
Most  roads  now  have  flanging  machines  for  this  pur- 
.pose.  These  devices  may  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
those  directly  attached  to  the  locomotive  and  those 
built  into  a  special  car.  The  former  class  is  obviously 
the  best  and  most  economical  since  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily require  a  special  train  for  the  purpose  of  flang- 
ing a  division,  as  in  the  latter  class.  The  Priest 
flanger  has  proved  to  be  a  very  serviceable  device  for 
removing  snow.  On  this  device  there  is  nothing  that 
can  break  except  the  knives,  which  may  suffer  if  they 
strike  a  metallic  obstruction  like  a  guard  rail,  but  can 
be  readily  replaced.  If  the  engineer  is  careful  to  raise 
the  mechanism  every  time  he  approaches  such  an  ob- 
struction, the  knives  w411  last  until  thev  wear  out. 
When  the  flanger  is  used  the  only  hand  flanging  that 
the  trackmen  w^ill  have  to  do  will  be  around  frogs  and 


GENERAL  WINTER  WORK  213 

switches  and  highway  crossings,  where  the  knives  of 
the  Hangers  had  to  be  raised.  The  Priest  flanger 
has  thoroughly  flanged  track  at  the  head  of  heavy 
freight  trains  cutting  through  twelve  inches  of  fairly 
hard  snow,  the  trains  making  nearly  schedule  time. 

Some  roads  have  a  proportion  of  the  heaviest  loco- 
motives in  freight  service  equipped  with  pilot  plows 
as  soon  as  winter  sets  in  and  leave  them  on  until  all 
danger  from  snow  is  past.  These  engines,  moving 
over  the  line  in  regular  service,  keep  the  track  clear 
down  to  within  a  few  inches  of  the  rail.  If  conditions 
are  such  as  to  warrant  it  one  of  the  engines  so  equipped 
can  be  started  over  the  road  light  to  open  up  the 
track  and  make  fairly  good  wheeling  for  following 
trains.     A  helper  engine  can  be  added  if  necessary. 

Opening  ditches  and  culverts.  On  roads  where 
snow  lies  on  the  ground  during  the  winter  months,  sec- 
tion foremen  should  open  up  all  ditches,  culverts,  and 
other  waterways  which  pass  along  or  under  the  track. 
Culverts,  which  are  apt  to  be  covered  with  snow  in  the 
winter,  can  easily  be  located  when  the  thaw  comes,  if 
a  long  stake  is  driven  close  to  the  mouth  of  each 
culvert  early  in  the  fall  of  the  year  before  any  snow 
falls  on  the  ground. 

In  cuts  that  are  full  of  snow  on  each  side  of  the 
track,  leaving  only  room  enough  for  trains  to  pass 
through,  a  ditch  should  be  made  in  the  snow  about  six 
feet  from  the  rail  on  each  side  of  the  track  so  that 
when  the  water  begins  to  run  it  will  not  injure  the 
track  by  running  over  it. 

Protect  your  men.  When  the  line  becomes  block- 
aded and  before  the  snow  bucking  gang  arrives,  track- 
men should  clean  the  snow  from  everv  alternate  rail  in 
long,  deep  cuts  where  it  would  be  likely  to  stick  the 
snow  plow.  A  look  out  should  be  kept  so  that  the  men 
in  the  pits  are  not  caught  by  the  unexpected  arrival 
of  the  train.     If  the  amount  of  snow  in  a  cut  is  not 


214  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

sufficient  to  stall  the  type  of  snow  plow  used  it  will  be 
a  waste  of  time  to  do  this  work.  By  cleaning  the 
snow  from  alternate  rails,  as  mentioned,  and  with  two 
engines  coupled  together  doing  the  ' '  bucking, ' '  one 
engine  will  always  have  a  clean  rail  under  it  and  the 
resistance  of  the  snow  will  not  be  great  enough  to  stop 
the  plow,  no  matter  how  long  the  cut  may  be. 

Snow  walls.  If  you  have  any  snow  fences  for  pro- 
tection along  the  cuts  on  your  section,  watch  them 
closely,  and  whenever  you  find  a  fence  which  has  been 
drifted  full  of  snow,  or  nearly  so,  build  with  blocks 
of  snow,  taken  from  the  inside  face  of  the  drift,  a  wall 
four  feet  high  along  the  top  of  the  highest  part  of 
the  drift.  As  long  as  the  weather  remains  cool  a  wall 
built  of  blocks  of  snow  will  give  as  good  protection  to  a 
cut  as  would  the  same  amount  of  ordinary  snow  fence. 
Make  snow  walls  strong  and  thick,  and  increase  their 
height  on  the  worst  cuts  in  proportion  to  the  force  of 
men  that  can  be  spared  to  do  the  work,  and  use  double 
lines  of  snow  wall  fifty  feet  apart  where  necessary. 

Snow  fences.  On  the  majority  of  northern  rail- 
roads the  amount  of  snow-fall  during  the  winter 
months  is  not  so  great  as  to  require  the  building  of 
snow  sheds,  but  to  protect  the  cuts  along  the  track 
from  filling  with  snow,  fences  are  built  along  the  tops 
of  the  cuts  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  track  to 
catch  the  snow  when  it  is  drifted  and  prevent  it  from 
being  blown  into  the  cuts  and  blocking  the  track. 
The  efficiency  of  a  snow  fence  as  a  protection  against 
snow  depends  on  its  strength,  durability,  height,  how 
far  it  is  from  the  track  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
arranged  along  the  tops  of  the  cuts. 

Snow  fence  is  not  needed  on  cuts  where  heavy  timber 
or  underbrush  grows  close  along  each  side  of  the 
track,  as  the  only  snow  in  such  cuts  falls  directly  upon 
the  track.  But  where  the  ground  is  level  for  some  dis- 
tance from  the  track,  or  on  a  gently  rolling  prairie, 


GENERAL  WINTER  WORK  215 

cuts  are  likely  to  fill  up  with  snow  if  not  properly 
fenced.  Snow  fences  should  be  set  up  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  the  track  that  the  edge  of  the  snow  drift 
forming  inside  of  them  will  not  reach  within  thirty 
feet  of  the  track  when  the  fence  is  drifted  full.  A 
good  rule  is  to  set  the  fence  about  eleven  or  twelve 
feet  from  the  track  for  each  foot  in  height  of  fence ; 
the  height  of  snow  fence  regulating  its  distance  from 
the  track.  If  a  snow  fence  is  set  too  far  from  the 
track  for  its  height,  the  wind,  after  passing  over  the 
top  of  the  fence,  soon  strikes  the  ground  on  the  inside 
of  the  fence  and  gathers  all  the  snow  before  it  into 
the  cut,  and  part  of  the  snow  which  blows  over  the 
fence  is  also  carried  to  the  track. 

Storms  from  the  northwest,  north  and  northeast  are 
the  most  prevalent  throughout  the  Northwest,  and  as 
a  general  rule  the  north  sides  of  railroads  running 
east  and  west  and  the  west  sides  of  roads  running 
north  and  south  need  the  most  protection  from  snow. 
Where  two  snow  fences  are  put  up  on  one  side  of  the 
track  they  should  run  parallel  with  each  other.  Un- 
less a  very  large  quantity  of  snow  is  drifted  the  out- 
side fence  will  hold  it  all. 

Very  good  results  have  been  attained  by  setting  out 
the  snow  fence  next  to  the  track  in  the  following  man- 
ner: If  the  fence  is  of  ordinary  height,  set  it  up 
seventy-five  feet  from  the  nearest  track  rail.  Enough 
of  the  snow  fence  should  run  parallel  with  the  track 
to  reach  the  full  length  of  the  cut  and  no  more.  After 
this  part  of  the  fence  is  up,  turn  a  wing  on  each  end 
of  it,  approaching  the  track  gradually  until  the  ex- 
treme end  of  each  wing  extends  100  feet  beyond  the 
end  of  the  cut,  at  a  distance  of  about  fifty  or  sixty  feet 
from  the  track  rail. 

When  a  cut  ends  abruptly  on  the  beginning  of  a 
high  fill,  the  wing  on  that  end  of  the  snow  fence 
should  be  turned  in  toward  the  track  before  the  end 


216  THE  TRACiaiAN'S  HELPER 

of  the  cut  is  reached,  or  at  least  soon  enough  to  pro- 
tect the  cut  from  a  quartering-  storm.  A  snow  fence 
built  parallel  with  the  track  and  without  a  wing  on  the 
end  of  it,  is  of  very  little  use  when  a  storm  l)lows 
nearly  parallel  with  the  track,  as  much  of  the  snow 
on  the  inside  of  the  fence  is  apt  to  be  blown  into  the 
cut.  New  ties  which  are  received  for  repairs  to  track 
the  following  spring  can  be  distributed  and  used  ad- 
vantageously to  make  a  temporary  snow  fence  on  cuts 
where  needed.  The  ties  may  be  laid  along  in  line  with 
their  ends  lapping  each  other  about  one  foot.  Slats  or 
pieces  of  board  can  then  be  put  across  the  ends  of  the 
ties  where  they  lap  and  a  new  line  of  ties  laid  along  on 
top  of  them  until  the  snow  fence  is  of  the  proper 
height. 


XIII 

BUCKING   SNOW 

General  remarks.  No  one  is  so  well  qualified  to 
buck  snow  as  he  who  has  had  some  experience  at  it, 
and  no  man  should  be  trusted  with  full  charge  of  a 
snow  plow  outfit  unless  he  certainly  understands  the 
best  methods  to  be  employed  in  opening  up  the  road 
for  traffic  after  a  blockade.  The  man  in  charge  of  a 
snow  plow  outfit  should  be  informed  of  the  exact  con- 
dition of  the  road,  the  depth  of  snow,  the  lengths  of 
drifts,  and  their  location  as  nearly  as  possible,  before 
starting  out.  Another  engine  and  car,  with  a  con- 
ductor, train  crew  and  shoveling  gang,  should  follow 
close  behind  the  snow  plow  during  the  daytime,  and 
should  be  coupled  in  behind  the  plow  when  running 
after  dark. 

The  second  engine  should  be  used  as  a  helper  in 
striking  deep  snow,  and  to  pull  out  the  plow 
engine  whenever  it  is  stuck  fast  in  a  snowdrift.  All 
cars  attached  to  the  helper  engine  should  be  left  be- 
hind on  the  clear  track  when  both  engines  run  to- 
gether to  buck  a  drift  of  snow.  Never  allow  two  en- 
gines to  buck  snow  with  a  caboose  or  other  car  be- 
tween them,  as  either  arrangement  endangers  the 
lives  of  the  men  on  the  train.  There  is  no  necessity 
for  using  two  engines  behind  the  snow  plow  to  buck 
snow  which  one  engine  can  throw  out.  If  the  snow 
is  not  too  hard  one  good  heavy  engine  and  plow  will 
clear  the  track  of  a  snow  drift  three  to  five  feet  deep, 
and  from  five  to  eight  hundred  feet  in  length,  at  one 
run. 

217 


218  THE  TUACKLMAN'S  HELPER 

Two  good  locomotives  coupled  together  behind  the 
plow,  if  managed  properly,  will  remove  any  snow 
which  it  is  advisable  to  buck.  Snow  drifts  which 
are  higher  than  the  plow  cannot  be  cleared  from 
the  track  successfully  without  first  shoveling  the 
snow  off  the  top  of  the  drifts.  They  should  be  opened 
wide  enough  to  enable  the  plow  to  throw  out  of  the  cut 
the  snow  left  in  it.  When  the  snow  is  reported  hard 
those  in  charge  of  snow  plow  outfits  should  be  very 
careful  to  have  their  engines  and  plow  in  as  perfect 
condition  as  possible.  They  should  run  no  risk ;  every 
snow  drift  should  be  examined  before  running  into  it, 
and  each  end  should  be  shovelled  out  enough  to  leave 
a  clean  flangeway  and  a  face  that  will  let  the  plow 
enter  under  the  snow.  The  tendency  of  hard  snow 
is  to  lift  the  plow  up  over  the  top  of  the  drift  and 
throw  the  engine  off  the  track.  Whenever  the  ends  of 
the  drifts  are  not  faced  as  before  mentioned  there  is 
always  great  danger  when  entering  or  leaving  short, 
shallow  drifts  of  hard  snow;  while  on  the  contrary 
there  is  little  or  no  danger  in  plowing  soft,  deep  snow 
at  high  speed. 

The  engines  with  a  snow  plow  outfit  should  alwaj^s 
take  on  water  and  fuel  to  their  full  capacity  at  every 
point  on  the  road  where  a  supply  can  be  obtained. 
When  it  is  at  all  probable  that  progress  will  be  slow 
on  account  of  hard  or  deep  snow,  a  car  loaded  with 
coal  should  be  taken  along  by  the  helper  engine. 

Length  of  run.  In  plowing  snow  the  length  of  run 
and  the  speed  of  the  engine  should  always  be  in  pro- 
portion to  the  depth  and  length  of  the  snow  drifts.  If 
the  drifts  are  deep  and  long,  and  likely  to  stick  the 
plow,  a  good  long  run  should  be  taken  on  the  clear 
track,  so  that  the  plow  engine  may  acquire  good  speed 
before  striking  the  drift. 

The  engineer  of  the  snow  plow  engine  should  sound 
the  whistle  frequently  when  approaching  a  cut,  so  that 


BUCKING  SNOW  219 

section  men,  if  working  there,  would  be  warned  in  time 
to  get  out  of  the  cut.  When  the  snow  plow  is  making 
repeated  runs  for  a  big  snow  drift,  the  signal  to  come 
ahead  should  never  be  given  until  all  the  snow 
shovelers  have  left  the  cut.  It  is  very  difficult  for  men 
to  climb  out  of  a  cut  where  the  snow  is  deep,  and  many 
accidents  have  occurred  where  approaching  trains  have 
failed  to  w^arn  the  men  in  time,  or  where  the  men  have 
neglected  to  look  out  for  the  danger  until  it  was  too 
late. 

Preparing  drifts.  If  necessary,  very  hard  snow 
should  be  broken  up  by  the  men  and  the  crust  thrown 
out  before  striking  it  with  a  snow  plow.  The  shock 
felt  w^ien  striking  a  hard  drift  is  sometimes  very 
great,  and  often  damages  the  machinery  or  knocks  the 
plow  from  the  track.  The  force  of  the  concussion  may 
be  materially  lessened  by  having  the  men  clean  a  good 
flangeway,  and  then  shovel  out  of  the  face  and  top  of 
the  drift  enough  snow  to  make  a  gradual  incline  of 
about  one  foot  to  the  rod.  Besides  reducing  the  force 
of  the  shock  the  above  method  of  preparing  a  hard 
snow  drift  enables  the  snow  plow  to  open  it  for  a  much 
greater  distance  at  a  run. 

Snow  plowing  with  a  plow  car  ahead  of  a  loco- 
motive has  been  supplanted  to  a  considerable  extent 
by  the  improved  rotary  snow  plows,  especially  when 
cuts  are  deep  and  long  and  the  snow  is  hard. 

A  hot  blast  gasoline  torch  for  thawing  interlocking 
connections  is  made  by  the  Turner  Brass  Works  of 
Sycamore,  111. 

The  tank  of  the  torch  is  made  of  heavy  gage  brass 
tubing  2  ins.  in  diameter  and  5  ft.  long.  There  is  a 
burner  at  one  end  of  the  tube  and  a  gasoline  A^alve  and 
pressure  pump  at  the  opposite  end.  There  is  also  a 
controlling  valve  inside  the  tube  which  regulates  and 
controls  the  flow  of  the  gasoline.  The  long  tube  holds 
the  gasoline  supplied  to  the  burner.     The  size  of  the 


220  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

blast  flame  is  regulated  by  the  control  valve.  The 
torch  and  flame  can  be  pointed  in  any  direction  de- 
sired. 

The  tank  has  a  capacity  of  three  quarts.  The  con- 
sumption of  gasoline  is  one  quart  per  hour  when  the 
flame  is  2  ins.  in  diameter  at  the  burner  and  12  ins. 
long.  The  length  of  the  tool  over  all  is  5  ft.  9  ins., 
and  it  weighs  about  8  lbs.  The  tool  operates  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  ordinary  gasoline  blow  torch. 
It  gives  a  heat  production  equal  in  amount  to  that  of 
six  ordinary  blow  torches. 

For  removing  snow  and  ice  from  railwaj^  tracks,  es- 
pecially around  the  movable  portions  of  the  track  ac- 
tuated by  interlocking  plants,  these  torches  will  prove 
very  useful  and  economical.  Following  a  recent  severe 
sleet  and  rain  storm  in  Chicago  and  vicinity,  which 
froze  up  the  movable  parts  of  railway  tracks,  a  single 
torch  of  the  character  here  described  was  sufficient  to 
take  care  of  the  large  number  of  switches  in  the 
Chicago'  transfer  yard  of  the  Chicago  Great  Western 
R.  R.  The  work  formerly  done  by  five  or  six  men  by 
old  methods  was,  in  this  case,  performed  by  one  man 
with  one  of  these  torches. 

The  torch  is  also  well  adapted  to  thawing  frozen 
water  pipes  and  hydrants.  It  is  also  useful  in  melt- 
ing the  lead  out  of  bell  and  spigot  joints  on  water 
mains  where  a  section  or  two  of  pipe  must  be  removed 
for  any  cause.  The  device  possesses  other  obvious 
fields  of  application,  particularly  on  construction  op- 
erations in  cold  weather. 


XIV 

LAYING   OUT    CURVES 

Geometrical  properties.  Curves  are  spoken  of  as 
being  of  a  certain  degree  or  radius.  The  radii  of 
curves  are  inversely  proportional  to  the  degrees  of 
their  curvature.  The  radius  corresponding  to  any 
degree  may  be  found  approximately  by  dividing  5730 
(the  radius  of  a  1  degree  curve)  by  the  degree  of 
curve. 

Hence  the  radius  of  a  5  degree  curve  =  5730  ^-  5 
=  1146. 

This  rule  is  very  close  for  radii  of  not  less  than  500 
feet. 

The  middle  ordinate  of  a  chord  is  the  perpendicular 
distance  from  the  middle  of  the  chord  to  the  curve ; 
thus  M  N,  Fig.  43,  is  the  middle  ordinate  of  the  chord 
CD. 

The  middle  ordinate  may  be  found,  approximately, 
by  dividing  the  square  of  the  chord  by  eight  times  the 
radius. 

The  chord  deflection  (in  feet  )of  a  100  foot  chord 
may  be  ascertained  (exactly)  by  dividing  10,000  by  the 
radius  in  feet.  The  tangent  deflection  is  one  half  the 
chord  deflection. 

To  lay  out  a  curve  by  offsets.     In  Fig.  43  the  line 

H  C  subtends  the  angle  formed  by  the  tangent  A  B 

produced  to  H,  with  the  chord  B  C,  and  is  called  the 

tangent  deflection.     The  line  I  D,  which  subtends  the 

angle  formed  by  the  chord  B  C  produced  to  I,  with 

the  chord  C  D,  is  called  the  chord  deflection.     The 

221 


RADII,    ORDINATES   AND   DEFLECTIONS   FOR    100   FEET 

CHORDS. 


Mid. 

Tang. 

Chord 

Deg. 

Rad. 

Old 

I. 

Deflec, 

Deflec. 

D       M. 

FT. 

FT. 

IN. 

FT. 

IN. 

FT. 

IN. 

0   10 

34377 

0 

0'/l6 

0 

m 

0 

3V^ 

20 

17189 

0 

0% 

0 

31/2 

0 

7 

30 

11459 

0 

i-yi6 

0 

51/4 

0 

101/2 

40 

8594 

0 

1% 

0 

7 

1 

2 

50 

6875 

0 

2%6 

0 

8% 

1 

57A6 

1 

5730 

0 

2% 

0 

101/2 

1 

8l-yi6 

10 

4911 

0 

31/16 

1 

0%6 

2 

07/16 

20 

4297 

0 

31/2 

1 

2 

2 

3iyi6 

30 

3820 

0 

3i-yi6 

1 

311/16 

2 

77A6 

40 

3438 

0 

4% 

I 

5^A6 

2 

107^ 

50 

3125 

0 

4l%6 

1 

7%6 

3 

2% 

2 

2865 

0 

5V4 

1 

81%6 

3 

57/6 

10 

2645 

0 

5IV10 

1 

IOII/16 

3 

9§6 

20 

2456 

0 

61^ 

2 

07/16 

4 

o7^ 

30 

2292 

0 

69/16 

2 

2^16 

4 

4% 

40 

2149 

0 

7 

2 

31%6 

4 

77/6 

50 

2022 

0 

77/16 

2 

5II/16 

4 

11%6 

3 

1910 

0 

7% 

2 

77^6 

5 

2iyi6 

10 

1810 

0 

8-yi6 

2 

9%6 

5 

6^i6 

20 

1719 

0 

8% 

2 

107,6 

5 

9iyi6 

30 

1637 

0 

9%6 

3 

OII/16 

6 

iyi6 

40 

1563 

0 

9% 

3 

2% 

6 

4% 

50 

1495 

0 

lOVic 

3 

4% 

6 

81/4 

4 

1433 

0 

IOV2 

3 

57^ 

6 

11% 

10 

1375 

0 

10% 

3 

7% 

7 

31/4 

20 

1322 

0 

11^16 

3 

9% 

7 

6% 

30 

1274 

0 

111%G 

3 

111/6 

7 

101/4 

40 

1228 

0^16 

4 

07/6 

8 

1% 

50 

1186 

011/16 

4 

2% 

8 

5%6 

5 

1146 

11^ 

4 

4% 

8 

8iyi6 

10 

1109 

IV2 

4 

6I/16 

9 

oyi6 

20 

1075 

2 

4 

71%6 

9 

31V16 

30 

1042 

2% 

4 

9%6 

9 

71/6 

40 

1012 

2% 

4 

11%6 

9 

10% 

50 

983 

31/4 

5 

11A6 

10 

2%6 

6 

955 

311/16 

5 

2l^i6 

10 

5% 

10 

930 

41^ 

5 

49i6 

10 

9V6 

20 

905 

4%6 

5 

6^16 

11 

0«/i6 

30 

882 

5 

5 

8 

11 

4 

40 

860 

57/16 

5 

9% 

11 

71/2 

50 

839 

5% 

5 

111/2 

11 

11 

222 


RADII,    ORDINATES   AND    DEFLECTIONS   FOR    100    FEET 

CHORDS' — Continued. 


Deg. 

Rad. 

Mid. 
Old. 

Tang. 
Deflec. 

Chord 
.  Deflec. 

D.      M. 

FT. 

FT. 

IN. 

FT. 

IN. 

FT. 

IN. 

7 

819 

6%6 

6 

11/4 

12 

21/2 

10 

800 

6% 

6 

3 

12 

6 

20 

782 

7%6 

6 

43/4 

12 

91/2 

30 

765 

7% 

6 

6I/2 

13 

1 

40 

748 

81/16 

6 

8I/4 

13 

47/16 

50 

732 

8V2 

6 

10 

13 

8 

8 

717 

8l%o 

6 

11% 

13 

117/16 

10 

702 

9% 

7 

1%6 

14 

27/8 

20 

688 

913/16 

7 

3%6 

14 

6% 

30 

675 

101/4 

7 

415/16 

14 

97,^ 

40 

662 

1011/16 

7 

611/16 

15 

1% 

50 

649 

111/^ 

7 

87/16 

15 

41%G 

9 

637 

11%6 

7 

10% 

15 

85/16 

10 

625 

2 

0 

7 

11% 

15 

1113/16 

20 

615 

2 

OV16 

8 

1% 

16 

31/4 

30 

604 

2 

0% 

8 

3% 

16 

63/4 

40 

593 

2 

15/16 

8 

51^ 

16 

101/4 

50 

583 

2 

1% 

8 

67^ 

17 

III/16 

10 

574 

2 

2%6 

8 

%% 

17 

53/16 

30 

546 

2 

3I/2 

9 

iiyi6 

18 

35^ 

11 

522 

2 

41%3 

9 

7 

19 

2 

30 

499 

2 

61^ 

10 

01/4 

20 

01/2 

12 

478 

2 

7Vi6 

10 

57/16 

20 

107^ 

30 

459 

■^  2 

83/4 

10 

10% 

21 

91/4 

13 

442 

2 

101/16 

11 

37^ 

22 

711/16 

30 

425 

2 

11% 

11 

9116 

23 

61/8 

14 

410 

3 

011/16 

12 

21/4 

24 

41/2 

30 

396 

3 

2 

12 

77/16 

25 

27^ 

15 

383 

3 

3^16 

13 

0% 

26 

11/4 

30 

371 

3 

4% 

13 

51^16 

26 

11% 

16 

359 

3 

5i%e 

13 

11 

27 

10 

/-  30 

348 

3 

71/4 

14 

4^16 

28 

8% 

17 

338 

3 

8% 

14 

93^ 

29 

6% 

18 

320 

3 

111/4 

15 

7% 

31 

37/16 

19 

303 

4 

1% 

16 

6I/16 

33 

01/^ 

20 

288 

4 

41/2 

17 

4% 

34 

83/4 

21 

274 

4 

71/^ 

18 

2II/16 

36 

5% 

22 

262 

4 

93/4 

19 

1 

38 

2 

23 

251 

5 

oyi6 

19 

111/4 

39 

101/2 

24 

240 

5 

31/16 

20 

91/2 

41 

7 

25 

231 

5 

5% 

21 

7% 

43 

31/2 

223 


224 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


number  of  degrees  in  the  angle  I  C  D,  expresses  the 
degree  of  the  curve  when  the  chord  is  100  ft. 

In  the  table  of  Radii,  ordinates  for  a  curve  contain- 
ing odd  minutes  can  be  readily  calculated  by  simple 
proportion.  Having  these  respective  distances,  any 
intelligent  foreman  can  trace  a  curve  on  the  ground 
with  tolerable  accuracy,  especially  where  the  ground 
is  favorable. 

Suppose  it  be  required  to  lay  out  in  this  manner,  a 
four  degree  curve : — First,  find  from  the  table  the 
tangent  deflection,  H  C,  corresponding  to  a  four-de- 
gree curve,  viz,  3  feet  5%  inches,  and  also  the  chord 


Fig.  43.     Elements   of   Railroad   Curve 

deflection,  I  D,  or  K  E,  6  feet  ll^  inches.  Then  from 
the  starting  point,  B,  and  in  line  with  A  B,  measure  B 
H,  equal  to  100  feet,  and  mark  the  point  H.  Swing 
the  tape  around  toward  B  C,  keeping  the  end  at  B 
fixed,  at  the  same  time  measure  from  the  point  H  the 
tangent  deflection  3  feet  5%  inches,  and  place  a 
stake  at  C  for  the  first  point  on  the  curve.  Then 
make  C  I  equal  to  100  feet,  putting  a  peg  at  I,  in  line 
with  those  at  B  and  C.  Swing  the  tape  around  until 
I  D  is  equal  to  the  chord  deflection,  6  feet  11%  inches. 
Place  a  stake  at  D  for  the  second  point  on  the  curve. 
In  the  same  manner  continue  the  chord  deflection 
until  the  end  of  the  curve  is  reached  at  E. 


LAYING  OUT  CURVES  225 

In  order  to  pass  from  the  curve  at  E  to  the  next 
tangent,  E  G,  make  E  L  equal  to  100  feet,  and  put  in  a 
peg  at  L  in  line  with  those  at  D  and  E.  Swing  the 
tape  around  until  F  L  is  equal  to  the  tangent  deflec- 
tion. Then  will  a  line  passing  through  E  and  F  be 
tangent  to  the  curve  at  E, 

Difference  in  length  between  the  inner  and  outer 
rails  of  a  curve.  There  are  three  different  methods 
for  finding  this  difference :  1st.  The  difference  in 
length  may  be  taken  at  1%2  inches,  per  degree  of 
curve  per  100  feet. 

Example  : — To  find  the  difference  in  length  between 
the  inner  and  outer  rails  on  600  ft.  of  10  degree  curve. 
Here  10  x  1%2  x  6  ==  5.154  ft.-=5  ft.  1%  inches. 

2d.  Divide  the  distance  from  center  to  center  of  the 
rails  (ordinarily  4  feet  11  inches,  or  4.9167  feet)  by  the 
radius  of  the  curve,  and  multiply  the  result  by  the 
length  of  the  curve  in  feet. 

Example  : — Taking  the  same  example  600  ft.  of  10 
deg.  curve,  (4.9167-^573.7)  x  600  =  5.142  ft.=:5  ft. 
1%  inches. 

3d.  Multiply  the  excess  for  a  whole  circumference, 
by  the  total  number  of  degrees  in  the  curve,  and  divide 
the  product  by  360.  The  excess  for  the  whole  circum- 
ference, no  matter  what  the  degree  of  curve,  is  equal  to 
twice  the  distance  between  rail  centers  multiplied  by 
3.1416. 

Where  the  distance  between  rail  centers  is  4  feet  11 
inches,  the  excess  for  a  whole  circle  is  30.892  feet. 

Example  : — Taking  the  same  example  600  feet  of  10 
deg.  curve  (30.892  x  600)  -^  360  =  5.148  ft.==  5  ft.13/4 
inches. 

For  the  easier  curves  that  are  laid  to  exact  gage  the 
first  method  is  the  simplest.  On  sharper  curves,  where 
the  gage  is  widened,  or  for  narrow  gage  lines,  use  the 
second  method,  or  prepare  a  table  by  the  third  method. 


XV 

ELEVATION   OF   CURVES 

General  remarks.  The  rails  on  straight  track  are 
kept  level  so  that  the  weight  of  trains  may  be  borne 
equally  by  both  rails  and  to  insure  easy  riding  for 
trains.  If  one  rail  were  lower  than  the  other  it  would 
receive  more  than  half  the  load,  which  would  cause  the 
ends  of  the  ties  on  that  side  to  sink  still  lower  in  the 
roadbed  and  then,  because  resting  on  an  incline,  the 
track  would  be  moved  to  the  lower  side  and  out  of  line 
by  the  swinging  of  trains.  The  same  is  true,  of  course, 
if  the  weight  on  one  rail  is  greater  than  the  other ;  the 
line  and  surface  of  the  track  will  soon  show  kinks  and 
swings. 

Centrifugal  force.  AYith  a  train  standing  still  on  a 
curve  the  rails  must  be  level  for  each  to  bear  half  the 
w^eight,  but  when  the  train  begins  to  move  some  extra 
weight  will  be  thrown  on  the  outer  rail  by  the  centri- 
fugal force,  which  develops  with  the  speed  of  the  train. 
This  centrifugal  force  is  the  resistance  offered  by  all 
moving  bodies  to  anything  which  may  be  interposed  to 
change  their  course  from  a  straight  line,  and  may  be 
illustrated  by  throwing  a  stone  at  a  board  set  at  an 
angle  of  say  45  degrees.  If  the  stone  misses  the  board 
it  will  move  onward  in  a  straight  line  until  forced  to 
the  ground  by  the  attraction  of  gravity.  But  if  it 
strikes  the  board  it  is  deflected  from  its  course  and  the 
dent  made  in  the  board  shows  in  a  way  the  amount  of 
force  offered  by  the  stone  in  resisting  the  effort  of  the 

board  to  change  its  course  to  that  extent.     On  rail- 

226 


ELEVATION  OF  CURVES  227 

roads,  the  curves  are  made  long  and  as  easy  as  pos- 
sible, so  that  the  destructive  force  shown  by  the  impact 
of  the  stone  against  the  board  may  be  considerably  re- 
duced by  distributing  it  over  several  hundred  feet  of 
track. 

Centripetal  force.  This  lengthening  of  the  curve 
being  insufficient,  the  outer  rail  of  the  curve  is  elevated 
so  that  the  centripetal  force  set  up  thereby  may 
counteract  the  remaining  centrifugal  force.  The 
centripetal  force  in  this  case  is  simply  the  force  of 
gravity,  which  tends  to  tip  the  leaning  cars  over  to- 
ward the  inside  of  the  curve.  Now,  when  the  curve  is 
elevated  so  that  these  two  forces  exactly  balance  each 
other,  the  weight  of  a  moving  train  will  be  supported 
equally  by  the  two  rails.  If  the  elevation  of  a  curve 
is  just  right  for  a  speed  of  forty  miles  per  hour,  it  is 
evident  that  trains  running  sixty  miles  per  hour  will 
press  laterally  against  the  outer  rail,  and  if  this  pres- 
sure be  great  it  may  throw  the  track  out  of  line  or 
spread  the  rails.  On  the  other  hand,  with  trains  run- 
ning only  twenty  miles  per  hour  the  weight  would  be 
greatest  on  the  lower  rail,  and  while  it  would  tend  to 
depress  the  rail  still  more,  and  perhaps  develop  swings 
when  the  ballast  is  weak,  it  would  not  spread  the 
track. 

Effect  of  speed  on  elevation.  The  elevation  neces- 
sary on  curves  depends  on  the  speed  and  on  the  de- 
gree of  curve.  For  instance,  if  a  four-degree  curve  re- 
quires 7  inch  elevation  for  speed  of  fifty  miles  per 
hour,  for  a  speed  of  twenty-five  miles  per  hour  it  would 
require^mot  3I/2  inches  but  only  1%  inches  to  balance 
the  weight  of  trains.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  Fig. 
44. 

A  weight  B  is  suspended  from  a  rigid  support  S  by 
a  cord  A.  By  giving  the  weight  a  circular  motion  it 
will  describe  a  circle  C  around  a  center  E,  and  the 
angle  of  the  cord  A  B  will  show  what  elevation  would 


B 


\ 


£jl41£ujd^ 


Fig.  44. 


Effect    of    Speed    on    Elevation    of    Curves 
228 


ELEVATION  OF  CURVES  229 

be  required  if  the  circle  C  were  a  track  in  order  to  dis- 
tribute the  weight  of  B  if  it  were  a  car  bearing  equally 
on  both  rails  at  a  given  speed ;  that  is,  the  level  of  the 
rails  should  be  at  right  angles  to  the  line  S  B  to  give 
the  curve  the  proper  elevation  for  the  rate  of  speed 
at  which  the  weight  B  moves  around  the  circle.  Sup- 
pose that  circle  C  represents  a  four-degree  curve  and 
the  inner  circle  D.  with  but  half  the  radius  of  C,  repre- 
sents an  eight-degree  curve.  Now,  if  the  weight  B 
moves  around  the  outer,  or  four-degree,  curve,  in  say 
four  seconds,  it  will  revolve  in  continually  decreasing 
circles,  but  always  in  the  same  period  of  time,  and  will 
move  around  the  inner  circle,  or  the  eight-degree  curve, 
in  four  seconds  also.  But  the  inner  circle  being  but 
one-half  the  circumference  of  the  outer,  it  follows  that 
the  speed  of  the  weight  is  reduced  one-half.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  dotted  line  shows  that  the  angle  of  the 
cord  from  the  perpendicular  has  been  reduced  one- 
half  also,  and  this  indicates  that  the  elevation  of  curve 
D  should  be  one-half  that  of  curve  C.  Now  suppose 
weight  B  is  a  car  traveling  around  four-degree  curve  C 
at  fifty  miles  per  hour,  and  the  angle  of  the  cord  S  B 
shows  that  an  elevation  of  7  inches  is  necessary  to 
bring  the  level  of  the  rails  to  a  right  angle  with  the 
cord,  then  when  the  car  moves  around  eight-degree  D 
it  is  going  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  miles  per  hour, 
and  the  elevation  necessary,  as  shown  by  dotted  line,  is 
half  that  of  the  outer  curve,  or  3l^  inches ;  and,  if  an 
eight-degree  curve  should  be  elevated  Sy^  inches  for  a 
speed  of  twenty-five  miles  per  hour,  a  four-degree 
curve  should  be  elevated  only  1%  inch  for  the  same 
speed,  as^reviously  stated. 

It  requires  more  than  a  passing  thought  to  under- 
stand the  two  elements  that  must  be  considered  in  cal- 
culating elevation.  One  is  increase  of  speed  and  the 
other  increase  of  curvature.  In  one  case  elevation 
should  increase  in  exact  proportion  to  the  increase  of 


230  THE  TRACKISIAN'S  HELPER 

curvature  where  the  rate  of  speed  is  the  same.  In  the 
other,  if  the  speed  is  increased  say  two  times,  the  ele- 
vation shoukt  be  increased  four  times  where  the  curva- 
ture is  the  same.  This  explains  the  reason  for  giving 
such  light  elevation  in  yards  and  other  places  where 
the  speed  does  not  exceed  twenty-five  miles  per  hour, 
in  proportion  to  the  elevation  given  main  tracks  when 
the  speed  is  fifty  miles  per  hour.  In  fact,  some  roads, 
while  giving  liberal  elevation  on  main  line  curves, 
allow  little  or  none  in  yards. 

How  to  calculate  the  elevation.  While  .the  theory 
of  elevation  is  easily  understood,  the  application  in 
practice  brings  in  the  speed  factor,  which  is  more  or 
less  uncertain,  as  trains  will  run  at  different  speed. 
The  practice  is  to  elevate  for  the  highest  speed  at 
which  trains  are  to  be  run  over  the  particular  piece  of 
track,  and  if  the  curvature  requires  an  elevation  be- 
3'ond  the  prescribed  maximum  (some  roads  specify  6" 
and  others  8")  the  only  alternative  is  to  reduce  the 
speed  of  the  fastest  trains. 

The  correct  rule,  deduced  from  Mechanics,  is 

E  = 


32.16  R 


the  result  being  in  feet  or  fractions  of  a  foot.  V^ 
means  the  square  of  the  velocity  in  feet  per  second. 
This  should  be  multiplied  by  g,  the  gage,  which  in  this 
case  is  the  distance  between  points  supporting  the 
wheels,  or  from  the  center  of  one  rail  head  to  the 
center  of  the  other,  say  5  feet,  instead  of  4'  Sy^",  and 
the  result,  divided  by  the  product  of  32.16,  which 
represents  the  intensity  of  force  of  gravity,  multiplied 
by  R,  or  radius  of  the  curve  in  feet,  will  be  the  eleva- 
tion expressed  in  feet,  or  fraction  of  a  foot.  That 
the  rule  may  be  understood  by  all,  the  following  ex- 
amples are  made  as  plain  as  possible. 
Example : — ^What  elevation  should  be  given  a  four- 


ELEVATION  OF  CURVES  231 

degree  curve  for  a  speed  of  sixty  miles  per  hour?  In 
this  case  the  velocity  is  88  feet  per  second  and  the 
radius  of  this  curve  1433  feet;  therefore,  88  is  multi- 
plied by  88,  and  the  result  by  the  gage  5  feet  t=  38720 ; 
this  is  divided  by  32.16  multiplied  by  radius  1433  = 
46085 

38720        .-         ,^.     . 

ft.  =  10  inches. 


46085 


What  elevation  should  be  given  a  four-degree  curve 
for  a  speed  of  thirty  miles  per  hour,  velocity  44  feet 
per  second? 

44  X  44  X  5  =    9680 


32.16  X  1433  =  46085 


ft.  =  2  i/o  inches. 


In  this  example  the  result  follows  closely  the  prac- 
tice of  trackmen  who  give  I/2  inch  per  degree  for  a 
speed  of  thirty  miles  per  hour,  but  in  the  former  ex- 
ample the  result,  10  inches,  for  a  four-degree  curve  for 
a  speed  of  sixty  miles  per  hour  is  more  than  it  is  good 
practice  to  put  in  the  track  not  only  because  the  curve 
resistance  for  the  slower  trains  and  the  wear  on  the 
low  rail  would  be  excessive,  but  because  the  center  of 
gravity  of  any  cars  or  locomotives  that  happen  to  stop 
on  the  track  would  be  too  far  in.  Consequently,  if  the 
maximum  elevation  allowed  is  eight  inches  the  speed 
around  the  four-degree  curve  should  be  reduced  to 
about  fifty-two  miles  per  hour,  and  if  the  maximum 
elevation  permitted  is  six  inches  the  speed  should  be 
reduced  to  forty-seven  miles  per  hour. 

Curving  rails.  Bend  or  curve  the  rail  through  its 
entire  length  until  the  middle  ordinate  of  the  rail 
equals  as  many  quarter  inches  as  there  are  degrees  in 
the  curve  for  which  you  are  preparing  it.  To  ascer- 
tain this,  stretch  a  string  between  the  extreme  points 
of  the  rail  on  the  gage  side  and  measure  the  distance 
from  the  center  of  the  string  to  the  gage  side  of  the 


232 


THE  TIUCKMAN'S  HELPER 


rail  at  its  center.  For  foremen  who  have  not  had 
much  practice  in  curving  rails  it  is  best  to  also  meas- 
ure the  distance  from  the  string  to  the  rail  at  the  quar- 
ters, seven  and  one-half  feet  from  the  end  of  a  30-foot 
rail,  and  this  distance  should  be  three-quarters  of  what 
it  is  at  the  center  of  the  rail.  By  measurements  taken 
at  the  quarters  it  is  generally  easy  to  detect  a  kink 
in  the  rail,  which  should  always  be  taken  out.  Rails 
which  have  a  true  curve  will  hold  their  place  in  the 
track  ready  for  spiking.  The  more  accurate  the  curve 
of  rails,  the  less  the  amount  of  Jining  that  the  track 
will  need  afterward. 

Table  of  elevation  of  outer  rail  on  curves  in  inches. 


Degree 

of 
Curve 

CD 

i 

Speed  in  Miles  per  Hour 

w           m           w           w           w           oj 

O              <U              O             0)              o              o 

1     "s     's     '1     i     's 

C            lO           O           lO            O            lO 
(M            (M            CC           CO            rr            -^ 

0 

03 

•  l-H 

10 

CD 

•  rH 

g 

C 

1  .... 

2  ..  . 

•   % 

.        % 

•        % 
1 

1% 

178 

V2 

1 

iy4 

1% 

lys 
2y8 

2% 
2% 

2ys 
3y8 

% 

ly. 

1% 

2 

2% 

2y8 

3y4 
334 

4y8 

% 

iy8 

1% 

2% 
3 

31/2 
4ys 
4% 
5% 
syg 

% 
1% 
2% 
3y4 
4 

4y8 
5% 

iy8 
2y8 
3y8 
4y4 
5y4 

lys 
2% 
4 

5% 

1% 
3y4 
4% 

2 

4 

2% 
4% 

3     ... 

6 

7y8 

4    ..  . 

6% 

8 

5    ..  . 

6% 

sy^ 

6    .... 

61/4 

8 

7    ... 

7% 

8    ..  . 

61/0 

9    ... 
10    .  .  . 

7y4 
sys 

11    .  .  . 

6yo 

12    ..  .. 

7y8 

XoTE^ — The  figures  above  the  heavy  black  line  are  the  ones 
ordinarily  used  in  practice. 


ELEVATION  OF  CURVES 


233 


Rail  benders.  There  are  two  general  types  of  rail 
benders,  one  operated  by  the  section  men  by  hand  and 
the  other  by  power  mounted  on  a  flat  car,  the  rails 
being  pulled  through  the  bender  from  another  flat  car 
to  a  car  on  which  they  are  stored  or  from  which  they 
are  distributed  upon  the  ground  for  laying.  The 
power  for  doing  the  pulling  may  be  obtained  either 
from  the  locomotive  or  a  hoisting  engine  mounted  on 


t:£H 


Fig.  45.     Vaughan  Rail  Bender 

another  car.  The  common  tj^pe  of  curver  consists  of  a 
semicircular  steel  yoke,  a  strap  connecting  the  jaws  of 
the  yoke  and  a  plunger  between  the  yoke  and  the  strap, 
whose  position  can  be  regulated  by  a  threaded  end 
which  passes  through  the  yoke  and  a  nut  abutting 
against  it.  The  curving  is  accomplished  by  the  pres- 
sure upon  the  side  of  the  rail  of  three  wheels,  two  of 
which  are  located  at  the  intersections  of  the  strap  and 
the  yoke,  and  the  third  is  carried  by  the  plunger.     The 


234 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


rails  are  pulled  between  tliese  wheels,  the  amount  of 
curve  being"  regulated  by  the  position  of  the  plunger. 

With  one  of  these  machines,  described  in  the  Decem- 
ber 18,  1914  number  of  the  Railway  Age  Gazette,  it 
was  found  that  20  rails  per  hour  or  200  per  day  could 


Fig.  46.     Superior  Reversible  Rail  Bender 


be  curved  at  an  expense  of  about  $40  per  day  or  $0.20 
for  a  33-ft.  rail.  The  force  required  for  operation  was 
eight  men  and  a  foreman,  assisted  by  a  locomotive. 
For  curving  rails  in  very  large  quantities  a  more  eco- 
nomical method  would  be  to  utilize  a  platform  with  a 


ELEVATION  OF  CURVES  235 

Middle  ordinates  in  inches  for  curving  rails. 


Degree 

Radius 

Length  of  Rails 

in  Feet 

of  Curve 

in  Feet 

33 

30 

28 

26 

24 

22 

20 

0°  30' 

11459. 

%2 

Vs 

%2 

5/64 

1/16 

%4: 

%4 

1°00' 

5730. 

%2 

V4. 

%6 

%2 

Vs 

Vs 

%2 

1°  30' 

3820. 

2%4 

% 

%6 

y* 

7/b 

?i6 

5/^2 

2°  00' 

2865. 

3-/64 

19b 

1%2 

11/32 

1%4 

74 

1?64 

2°  30' 

2292. 

4%4 

1%2 

3%4 

■^16 

% 

21/^64 

17/^4 

3°  00' 

1910. 

5%4 

4%4 

3%4 

17/b 

7/16 

% 

5/i6 

3°  30' 

1637. 

1 

27/b 

47/64 

% 

3%4 

7^6 

% 

4°  00' 

1433. 

1  %4 

61/64 

5%4 

23^2 

1%2 

V2 

27/64 

4°  30' 

1274. 

1   %2 

1    I/16 

5%4 

51/64 

43/^64 

9/46 

15/b 

5°  00' 

1146. 

127/64 

1   %6 

1   1/^2 

57/64 

% 

41/^64 

17/k 

5"  30' 

1042. 

1   %6 

11%4 

1   Vs 

6?^64 

27/b 

45/64 

37^4 

6°  00' 

955.4 

12%2 

113/b 

1   7/32 

1    I/16 

2%2 

4%4 

% 

6°  30' 

881.9 

1     % 

117/.52 

111/^2 

1   %2 

63^64 

53/64 

ii/ie 

7°  00' 

819.0 

2 

141/64 

1   7/16 

1     V4. 

1    I/16 

57/64 

47/64 

7°  30' 

764.5 

2%4 

1     % 

117/32 

121/64 

1   Vs 

61/^64 

25/b 

8°  00' 

716.8 

2  %2 

157/64 

141/64 

127/64 

11%4 

1    1/64 

27/b 

8°  30' 

674.7 

22%4 

2 

147/64 

13%4 

117/64 

1   5^64 

57/64 

9°  00' 

637.3 

2  9/l6 

2%2 

127^2 

11%2 

111/^2 

1   %4 

15/16 

9°  30' 

603.8 

24%4 

2  1/4 

161/64 

III/16 

127/64 

1   7/b 

1 

10°  00' 

573.7 

22%2 

223/64 

2  3/64 

125/32 

1     V2 

117/k 

1   ^64 

11° 

521.7 

3   %4 

21%2 

2  1/4 

161/64 

14%4 

11%2 

1   %2 

12° 

478.3 

327/64 

253/64 

215,^2 

2%4 

11^16 

117/b 

117/k 

13° 

441.7 

3^%4 

3  ^64 

22i,b 

21%4 

161/64 

121/^2 

12%4 

14° 

410.3 

36%4 

31%4 

2  Vs 

231/64 

2?'32 

12%2 

115/^2 

15° 

383.1 

417/64 

335/64 

3  5/64 

243/64 

2  1/4 

12%2 

137^4 

16° 

359.3 

43%4 

3    % 

3   %2 

253/64 

21%2 

2%4 

14%4 

17° 

338.3 

427,^2 

4 

331/64 

3  V32 

2  9/16 

2  %2 

12%2 

18° 

319.6 

5   Vs 

4  7/^2 

343/64 

3%6 

245/64 

3  %2 

1   Vs 

19° 

302.9 

51%2 

42%4 

357/64 

323/64 

255/64 

21%2 

16%4 

20° 

287.9 

5^3/64 

445/64 

4  %2 

335/64 

3 

235/64 

2%2 

21° 

274.4 

531/32 

45%4 

4  %2 

345/64 

3  %4 

221/^2 

2%6 

22° 

262.0 

6  1/4 

5  5^2 

4  1/2 

32%2 

31%4 

251/64 

21%4 

23° 

250.8 

633/64 

513/32 

4II/16 

4  1/16 

3  7/16 

25%4 

225/64 

24° 

240.5 

61%6 

5  Vs 

457/64 

4  1/4 

31%2 

3   1/b 

2  1/3 

25° 

231.0 

7%4 

55%4 

5%2 

41%2 

347/64 

3  5/^2 

21%2 

26° 

-^22.3 
214.2 

7  % 

6  5/64 

51%4 

437/64 

3  Vs 

3  %2 

245/64 

27° 

7  % 

6%2 

531/64 

4    % 

4  1/64 

31%2 

251/64 

28° 

206.7 

75%4 

635/04 

54%4 

415/16 

411/64 

317/^2 

22%2 

29° 

199.7 

81%4 

64%4 

557/64 

5  %2 

421/64 

341/64 

3 

30° 

193.2 

81%2 

7 

6%2 

5  1/4 

431/04 

31%6 

3  7/64 

236  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

hoist  for  unloading  and  loading  the  rails  and  a  hoist- 
ing engine  between  drums  and  cables  for  pulling  them 
through  the  curver. 

Directions  for  use  of  the  Vaughan  rail  bender. 
Seat  the  device  squarely  on  top  of  the  rail,  over  the 
splice,  with  the  slots  in  the  legs  at  center  of  splice. 
Insert  the  lifting  bar  in  leg  slots.  Turn  up  screw 
until  rail  and  splice  are  straight. 

For  straightening  bent  splices  not  in  track,  bolt  the 
splice  to  two  ends,  forming  a  complete  joint,  and  pro- 
ceed as  above. 

For  use  as  an  ordinary  rail  bender,  lay  the  device 
on  its  side  with  the  legs  over  and  under  the  rail.  In- 
sert bearing  blocks,  and  turn  up  screw. 

A  few  drops  of  oil  on  the  screw  will  very  materially 
lessen  the  labor  of  operation. 

Printed  information  for  foremen.  On  all  curves  it 
is  good  practice  to  have  plainly  printed  signs  showing 
the  degree  of  the  curve  on  one  side  and  the  proper  ele- 
vation therefor  on  the  other  side.  If  for  any  reason 
it  is  not  possible  for  the  engineers  to  give  center  line 
stakes  for  relining  curves  and  to  set  these  markers  giv- 
ing the  exact  location  of  point  of  curve  and  any  change 
in  its  degree,  the  next  best  plan  is  to  furnish  the  fore- 
man with  a  record  of  the  curves  on  his  section  and  the 
elevation  for  each.  This  may  be  in  pamphlet  form 
convenient  to  carry  with  him  at  all  times,  such  as 
shown  in  Fig.  47,  page  237.  The  column  ''gage" 
should  show  the  exact  gage  to  maintain ;  that  is,  if 
there  is  any  departure  from  the  standard,  on  ac- 
count of  widening  for  the  curve. 


ELEVATION  OF  CURVES 


537 


l_     .fit     «(.   0^«-*-C3       60      S  CC  ^  . 


L.i*  oj  C^r^^ 


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B 


£Z*-»  J-tr^  -      a  ♦" 


Ho  . 

NtlkR; 

Oe«Kt.K. 

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Fig.  47.     J^ist  of  Curves  on  a  Section. 


XVI 

LINING    CURVES 

One  method  of  lining.  Select  any  part  of  a  curve 
track  which  seems  to  be  in  the  best  line  for  a  distance 
of  at  least  60  feet,  but  do  not  begin  at  the  point  of  a 
curve  unless  you  know  positively  that  the  curve  turns 
off  from  the  straight  track  without  leaving  a  swing  in 
the  line. 

Set  two  stakes  accurately  in  the  center  of  the  track, 
60  feet  apart,  and  one  in  the  center  of  the  track  at 
the  middle  of  the  60  feet.  These  three  points  are 
shown  in  Fig.  48  by  the  letters  A,  B  and  C.  Now 
stretch  a  cord  tight  from  A  to  C,  and  measure  from 
the  center  of  the  cord  indicated  by  M  to  the  center 
stake,  B.  The  result  should  be  your  guide  as  a  middle 
ordinate  for  the  balance  of  the  curve  in  either  direc- 
tion from  where  you  commence  work.  We  will  sup- 
pose this  middle  ordinate  to  be  four  inches.  You 
next  move  the  cord  30  feet  ahead  in  the  direction  in 
which  you  wish  to  line,  stopping  at  B  with  the  end 
you  had  first  at  A,  and  holding  the  end  of  the  cord 
which  was  at  C  in  your  hand  until  its  center  is  directly 
opposite  and  distant  just  four  inches  from  the  track 
center,  at  C.  You  may  then  set  track  center  D  at  the 
end  of  the  cord  which  you  hold  in  your  hand.  This 
process  may  be  carried  on  until  you  have  set  track 
centers  for  the  whole  curve. 

After  you  have  set  the  track  centers  for  the  whole 

curve,  procure  a  gage  which  is  square  and  true,  and 

mark  on  the  gage,  with  some  sharp  instrument,  the 

238 


LINING  CURVES 


239 


correct  center  between  track  rails  or  middle  of  the 
gage.  Place  this  gage  on  the  track  between  the  rails 
and  over  the  track  center  where  you  wish  to  begin  lin- 
ing the  rails  to  place.  Then  have  your  men  move  the 
track  with  their  lining  bars  until  the  center,  as  marked 
on  the  gage,  comes  directly  over  the  track  center 
point  on  the  stakes.     Move  the  track  in  this  manner 


Fig.  48.  The  Letters  A,  B,  C,  to  G  are  Track  Centers  of 
a  Curve  30  Feet  Apart;  A  C  is  a  60-Foot  Line  with  which 
to  Ascertain  the  Middle  Ordinate;  B  M  Shows  Where 
the  Measurements  Should  Be  Taken  to  Find  the  Middle 
Ordinate. 


at  every  point  where  you  have  set  a  center  stake,  and 
then  go  back  over  it  again,  taking  out  any  kinks  or 
other  defects  left  in  the  line,  and  you  will  have  a 
splendid  and  a  true  curved  line  on  your  track. 

Care  should  be  taken  not  to  make  any  mistakes  in 
measuring  the  middle  ordinates,  or  in  setting  the  track 
centers.  It  will  pay  to  take  your  time  and  do  the  job 
well,   because  if  properly  done    (like  well  surfaced 


240  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

track)  it  will  need  to  be  retouched  only  in  spots  after- 
wards. 

By  commencing  at  a  rail  joint,  this  method  of  lining 
a  curve  may  also  be  applied  to  the  gage  side  of  the 
rails,  and  any  defects  in  the  track  line  can  be  taken 
out  by  moving  the  rails  to  place  as  you  go,  but  the 
work  will  not  be  as  accurate  nor  as  reliable  as  by  the 
process  first  given.  If  the  rails  are  33'  long,  use  a  66 
foot  cord  or  string. 

Effect  of  locomotive  and  car  wheels  on  curve  track. 
Car  wheels  which  are  badly  worn  on  the  tread,  or 
close  to  the  flanges,  or  have  the  flanges  worn  sharp, 
are  not  safe  when  passing  over  switches  if  there  is  the 
slightest  ''lip"  on  the  rails.  They  are  dangerous  also 
on  battered  rails,  or  going  around  sharp  curves,  where 
they  are  likely  to  climb  the  rails  and  leave  the  track. 
Wheels  of  the  kind  mentioned  have  a  tendency  to  hug 
the  rail  on  their  side  of  the  track,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence make  a  considerable  wear  along  the  gage  side 
of  the  head  of  the  rail.  They  also  wear  spots  along 
the  top  surface  of  the  outer  rail  on  curves,  because,  the 
circumference  of  the  wheel  being  the  same  or  worn 
smaller  at  the  flange  than  at  the  outside,  the  wheel 
must  slip  by  a  certain  amount  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  of  curvature,  in  order  to  travel  as  fast  as  the 
wheel  on  the  inside  rail.  When  the  driving  wheels  of 
an  engine  are  allowed  to  run  too  long  without  being 
turned  off,  the  groove  worn  in  the  tire  often  causes 
considerable  damage  to  track  before  the  cause  is 
known.  Badly  worn  driving  wheels  are  likely  to  break 
the  points  and  wing  rails  of  frogs  and  cause  excessive 
wear  on  the  stock  rails  when  passing  over  switches. 

Run  off.  If  the  curve  in  the  track  is  a  portion  of 
the  arc  of  a  circle,  it  has  the  same  radius  right  from 
the  point  of  beginning  on  the  tangent,  and  conse- 
quently should  have  full  elevation  at  the  point  of 
curve  as  at  any  other  part  of  it.     To  insure  easy  riding 


LINING  CURVES  241 

the  elevation  must  commence  on  the  tangent  and  in- 
crease regularly  until  the  curve  is  reached.  It  is  good 
practice  to  run  the  elevation  out  fifty  (50)  feet  on  the 
tangent  for  each  inch  of  elevation.  Thus  a  curve  re- 
quiring four  inch  elevation  would  have  the  four  inches 
at  the  point  of  curve,  running  out  to  nothing  at  a 
point  two  hundred  (200)  feet  back  on  the  tangent. 

Easements.  The  practice  of  running  the  elevation 
out  on  the  tangent  as  above  mentioned  is  not  all  that 
may  be  desired  but  is  the  best  that  can  be  done  when 
the  curve  is  of  the  same  degree  throughout,  or,  in  other 
words,  is  a  circular  curve.  To  insure  easy  riding, 
especially  for  fast  trains,  a  ''spiral"  or  "easement 
curve"  should  be  applied  to  join  the  tangent  with  the 
circular  curve.  There  are  several  kinds  of  easements, 
the  principle  being  that  the  curve  will  have  a  radius 
varying  from  infinity  at  the  point  of  spiral  down  to  the 
radius  of  the  circular  curve  at  the  point  where  the 
main  curve  begins.  This  permits  running  the  eleva- 
tion in  the  same  proportion,  the  elevation  increasing 
just  as  the  degree  of  curve  increases  until  full  eleva- 
tion is  attained  where  the  main  or  circular  curve  is 
reached.  The  application  of  spirals  or  easements  in 
relining  curves  which  were  staked  out  as  arcs  of  circles 
in  the  first  place  is  quite  complicated  and  should  not 
be  undertaken  by  trackmen.  If  it  be  desired  to  put 
spirals  on  curves,  the  engineers  will  have  to  be  called 
upon  to  do  it,  and  a  record  can  then  be  kept  of  just 
what  change  is  made. 


XVII 

SPECIAL   CONDITIONS   ON   MOUNTAIN   ROADS 

Track  work.     The  winter  should  find  trackmen  in 
the  mountains  well  prepared  for  the  most  exacting 
part    of    the    year's    work.     The    ditches    should    be 
cleaned  out  and  all  loose  rock  should  be  barred  down 
from  overhanging  walls ;  otherwise,  later,  they  may  be 
dislodged  by  the  expansive  force  of  ice  or  by  the  weight 
of  snow,  and  roll  upon  the  track.     If  the  cut  ends  ab- 
ruptly at  a  deep  fill,  the  ditch  should  be  extended  away 
from  the  track  along  the  side  of  the  hill  in  order  to 
prevent  the  water  cutting  unsightly  holes  in  the  grade 
at  the  end  of  the  cut.     At  many  places  the  cut  is  on 
one  side  only,  the  other  side  being  a  fill,  and  where 
the  formation  above  the  track  is  loose  rock,  gravel  and 
dirt,  this  material  is  very  apt  to  slide  down  when  wet. 
In  such  cases  the  dirt  must  be  cleared  from  the  track 
and  cast  down  the  side  of  the  fill.     After  a  time  this 
fill  becomes  so  wide  at  this  point  that  the  material  can 
no  longer  be  cast  over  the  bank,  but  must  be  carried 
part  of  the  way.     This  is  a  very  costly  manner  of 
doing  the  work,  for  it  becomes  necessary  to  use  wheel- 
barrows or  ditching  machines  and  employ  work  serv- 
ice, so  that  the  material  can  be  loaded  up  and  wasted 
on   some   narrow  fill.     When  large   rocks   are   to   be 
barred  out  or  rolled  down,  they  may  be  made  to  roll 
across  the  track  and  down  the  fill  on  the  other  side 
by  laying  an  inclined  platform  of  ties  over  the  ditch 
next  to  the  hill.     But  if  for  any  reason  the  success  of 
this  plan  is  doubtful  or  if  the  walls  of  the  cut  rise  on 

242 


SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  ON  MOUNTAIN  ROADS      243 

both  sides  of  the  track,  such  large  rocks  should  be 
blasted  before  being  moved,  so  that  the  track  may 
not  be  obstructed  with  rocks  too  large  to  handle.  In 
all  cases  the  rails  below  the  rock  should  be  pro- 
tected by  ties;  if  the  rock  is  to  be  rolled,  the  ties 
should  be  laid  along  each  rail  on  the  side  next  to  the 
cut,  but  if  blasting  is  to  be  done  a  row  of  ties  should 
be  laid  along  each  side  of  each  rail  for  forty  or  fifty 
feet  near  the  point  where  the  largest  rocks  are  expected 
to  fall;  if  sufficient  ties  are  not  at  hand  to  do  this  a 
single  row  laid  on  top  of  the  rails  may  do,  but  in  this 
case  there  is  no  danger  of  a  tie  being  displaced  by  one 
stone  and  leaving  the  rail  exposed  to  damage  by  a 
heavier  one  coming  after.  If  ties  are  not  to  be  had, 
poles  may  be  cut  and  substituted.  All  such  rock  work 
should  of  course  be  done  under  the  protection  of 
flags. 

Cross  drains  should  be  cleared  out,  and  if  the  lower 
ends  empty  on  loose  sand  or  soil  they  should  be  filled 
around  with  rock  to  prevent  washing  or  undermining 
the  drains.  All  loose,  coarse  rocks  projecting  above 
the  ties  in  the  track  should  be  removed  before  winter 
sets  in,  otherwise  they  may  become  displaced  and  roll 
on  the  packed  snow  or  ice  between  the  rails  and  be 
caught  by  pilot,  snow  plow  or  flanger. 

Protection  against  snow.  Every  road  crossing  a 
mountain  range  maintains  an  expensive  system  of 
snow  fences  and  snow  sheds.  At  the  higher  altitudes, 
on  account  of  the  excessive  amount  of  snowfall,  fences 
are  ineffective  and  sheds  are  built  over  cuts  and  other 
places  where  the  snow  is  likely  to  cause  trouble,  while 
the  fills  are  generally  left  exposed  because  the  winds 
may  be  depended  upon  to  keep  them  clear.  Where  the 
elevation  is  low  great  snow  fences  are  in  a  measure 
depended  upon  to  keep  the  snow  from  drifting  upon 
the  track.  The  point  of  elevation  at  which  fences  are 
no  longer  effective   and  sheds   are   necessary   varies 


244  THE  TRACKIVIAN'S  HELPER 

greatly  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  must  be 
determined  by  experience  in  each  particular  case. 
Sheds  and  board  fences  are  usually  built  by  the  car- 
penter forces,  but  trackmen  are  generally  expected  to 
look  after  them  and  do  light  repairs,  remove  grass  and 
other  combustible  material  from  sheds,  and  see  that 
water  barrels  are  kept  filled.  Before  winter  sets  in 
salt  should  be  furnished  and  about  two  common  water 
pailfuls  of  it  should  be  put  in  each  barrel,  which 
amount  is  sufficient  to  prevent  the  water  from  freezing 
hard  enough  to  injure  the  barrels.  Before  putting  in 
fresh  salt  the  barrel  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  out. 

Clear  rails  of  ice.  Particular  attention  should  be 
given  to  keeping  the  rails  in  snow  sheds  and  tunnels 
free  from  ice  in  winter. 

Making  snow  fences.  (See  also  the  chapter  on 
"Winter  Work.)  Sometimes  trackmen  are  required  to 
make  snow  fences  out  of  poles  where  timber  is  con- 
venient. If  the  ground  is  not  rocky  a  good  fence  may 
be  made  by  beginning  at  one  end  and  setting  an  up- 
right forked  post:  then  lay  one  end  of  a  pole  on  the 
ground  the  other  projecting  through  the  fork  of  the 
post.  The  poles  should  be  about  twenty  feet  long,  and 
the  upper  end  should  be  about  eight  feet  above  the 
ground.  After  setting  the  first  pole  in  position,  drive 
cross  stakes  about  four  feet  from  the  upright  post  so 
that  they  will  lap  over  the  inclined  pole ;  then  lay  an- 
other pole  in  the  crotch  thus  formed  by  the  stakes 
and  repeat  the  process  until  the  fence  is  finished.  The 
cross  stakes  may  be  made  from  the  tops  of  the  branches 
of  the  poles  cut.  This  makes  a  good  snow  fence,  but 
requires  a  good  deal  of  work. 

The  portable  snow  fence  similar  to  that  shown  in 
Fig.  49  is  about  the  best  form  of  snow  fence  in  use 
today  where  the  snow  conditions  are  not  too  severe. 

The  rotary  plow  and  Sanger.  The  modern  rotary 
snow  plow  and  Sanger  have  made  obsolete  the  old 


SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  ON  MOUNTAIN  ROADS      245 


snow  plow  and  "snow  bucking"  outfit,  which  were  al- 
ways costly  and  hardly  ever  effective  in  keeping  the 
mountain  passes  open  for  anything  like  regular  serv- 


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Fig.  49.     Portable    Snow    Fence 

ice.  If  the  rotary  plow  and  flanger  are  kept  moving 
over  the  line  during  a  storm  the  section  men  will  have 
little  snow  shoveling  to  do  except  at  switches,  station 


246  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

platforms  and  snow  slides.  Turntables  on  the  passes 
are  usually  housed  in  and  require  no  attention. 

Water  supply.  There  is  sometimes  trouble  about 
keeping  up  the  flow  of  water  to  the  tanks.  Those  lo- 
cated in  the  mountains  are  generally  supplied  by 
gravity ;  that  is,  there  is  an  underground  pipe  line  up 
some  stream  to  a  point  w^liere  the  intake  or  upper  end 
of  the  pipe  is  higher  than  the  tank.  The  line  is 
usually  laid  so  deep  that  there  is  little  danger  of  freez- 
ing, but  as  an  additional  precaution  the  lower  end  is 
provided  with  a  waste  pipe  arranged  so  that  when  the 
tank  is  full  a  valve  in  the  lower  end  of  the  pipe  line  is 
opened  and  the  water  flows  out  through  a  waste  pipe 
until  the  water  in  the  tank  is  lowered  by  engines  to  a 
certain  point,  when  the  valve  is  again  closed.  By  this 
arrangement  water  is  always  flowing  through  the  pipe 
line,  and  the  likelihood  of  its  freezing  up  reduced ;  but 
the  box  or  housing  at  the  upper  end  is  often  broken  or 
filled  wdth  sand  during  a  freshet  and  should  be 
promptly  dug  out  and  repaired.  It  is  a  very  diffi- 
cult matter  to  so  protect  the  upper  end  of  the  pipe 
as  to  admit  water  freely  and  still  keep  out  sand  and 
silt. 

Expansion.  The  contraction  of  rails  on  mountain 
roads  in  the  winter  does  not  seem  to  be  greater  than 
on  other  lines.  This  is  probably  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  while  the  temperature  falls  very  low  in  the 
winter  it  does  not  rise  high  in  the  summer,  so  that  the 
range  is  not  excessive.  This  fact  should  not  be  lost 
sight  of  in  track  laying,  or  relaying  steel.  The 
greater  the  altitude  the  less  expansion  needed  if  the 
rails  are  laid  in  the  summer.  The  rails  do  not  absorb 
the  heat  of  the  sun  and  become  so  much  hotter  than 
the  temperature  of  the  air  as  they  do  at  lower  alti- 
tudes. At  some  passes  the  thermometer  never  rises 
above  80  degrees,  and  in  such  places  steel  laid  when 
the  temperature  reaches  this  point  would  need  no  al- 


SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  ON  MOUNTAIN  ROADS      247 

lowance  for  expansion,  because  whatever  movement 
takes  place  must  be  in  the  way  of  contraction.  Yet 
steel  is  sometimes  laid  in  the  mountains  with  the  same 
allowance  for  expansion  required  by  rules  intended 
and  accepted  as  correct  for  use  in  other  climates. 
Where  this  is  done  the  contraction  during  the  nights, 
which  are  always  cold  in  the  mountains,  and  in  winter, 
is  so  great  that  the  joints  are  pounded  down  and  rail 
ends  battered  by  the  wheels,  and  frequently  the  bolts 
are  broken  and  the  rails  pulled  apart. 

When  curves  are  numerous  the  "butting  back" 
process  should  begin  at  the  short  rails,  if  any,  at  each 
end  of  the  curve  on  the  inner  line  of  rails,  and  the 
closing  up  process  should  be  done  with  a  view  to  taking 
out  these  rails  and  using  longer  ones.  When  reverse 
curves  are  close  together,  by  changing  rails  on  the  in- 
side of  one  curve  the  expansion  may  sometimes  be 
adjusted  on  the  outer  rail  of  the  next  curve. 

Washouts.  In  the  spring  mountain  roads  are  sub- 
ject to  considerable  damage  from  washouts.  These 
occur  not  only  along  water  courses,  but  also  in  the 
valleys  where  the  ground  is  comparatively  level  and 
where  the  track  may  be  at  some  distance  from  the 
stream.  A  peculiarity  of  mountain  streams  is  that 
they  rarely  cover  any  considerable  territory.  There 
are  points  where  clouds  seem  to  gather  or  form,  and 
sometimes  the  fall  of  water  at  these  places  may  amount 
to  two  or  three  inches  in  a  few  minutes.  The  down- 
pour of  the^  so-called  "cloudbursts"  is  something 
tremendous,  and  of  course  in  such  a  case  the  nearest 
stream  is  changed  in  a  short  time  into  a  torrent,  along 
whose  bed  are  rolled  enormous  boulders,  which  strike 
and  break  off  bridge  piles  as  if  they  were  pipe  stems. 
At  other  times  a  cloud  may  leave  some  peak  or  range 
and,  swelling  up  big  and  black,  move  out  over  a  valley 
and  suddenly  dump  almost  its  entire  contents  in  a 
forty-acre  field.     If  there  happens  to  be  a  railroad 


248  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

track  whose  grade  is  not  much  above  the  surface  of 
the  ground  at  this  place,  it  will  be  flooded  or  the  bal- 
last washed  out.  Foremen  in  the  valleys  soon  learn  to 
watch  certain  points  in  the  mountains  for  storms  that 
may  cause  damage  to  the  track,  and  when  it  is  evident 
that  a  serious  storm  is  in  progress  at  such  a  place  flag- 
men should  be  sent  out  to  watch  the  effect  on  the  track 
and  bridges  spanning  the  streams  involved.  These 
watchmen  should  not  be  withdrawn  until  all  danger  is 
known  to  be  past. 

Land  slides.  The  melting  snow  in  the  spring  at 
high  altitudes  softens  the  ground  to  such  a  depth  that 
sandy  cuts  are  always  caving  in,  or  loose  rocks  rolling 
down.  Most  of  the  cuts  have  one  high  wall  next  to  the 
hill  and  little  or  no  cutting  on  the  lower  slope.  If  the 
slide  cannot  be  removed  by  the  section  gang  without 
delaying  trains  the  division  headquarters  should  be 
notified,  stating  the  number  of  feet  of  track  covered, 
how  deep,  and  whether  with  gravel,  clay  or  rock.  This 
information  should  be  sent  by  telegraph  or  telephone 
and  should  always  state  what  forces  of  men  are  avail- 
able nearby  or  are  working  on  the  removal  of  the  ob- 
struction, and  the  length  of  time  necessary  for  such  a 
force  to  clear  the  track  and  repair  it.  Information 
should  be  sent  in  as  accurately  as  possible  so  that  the 
division  officers  can  estimate  what  extra  help  must  be 
provided. 

Blasting  rocks.  At  points  where  large  rocks  are 
likely  to  roll  upon  the  track,  a  supply  of  drills,  dyna- 
mite, and  fuse  and  caps  should  be  kept.  If  a  rock  too 
large  to  be  rolled  is  found  on  the  track  it  may  be 
broken  by  fastening  two  sticks  of  dynamite  together, 
attaching  the  cap  and  fuse,  and  laying  the  charge  on 
top  of  the  rock  on  a  flat  surface,  if  possible.  Then,  if 
a  smaller  rock  is  laid  on  top  of  the  giant  powder,  much 
additional  force  of  the  explosion  will  be  exerted  down- 
ward.    Sticks  of  dynamite  should  not  be  hung  over  the 


SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  ON  MOUNTAIN  ROADS      249 

side  or  laid  beneath  a  rock  lying  on  the  track,  as  the 
explosion  is  certain  to  injure  the  ties  or  rails.  If  the 
rock  is  too  large  to  be  broken  as  above  it  must  be 
drilled.  A  hole  equal  in  depth  to  one-fourth  the  thick- 
ness of  the  rock  will  be  sufficient  and  half  a  stick  of 
dynamite,  properly  tamped,  will  rend  a  rock  weighing 
several  tons.  It  is  best  to  use  a  liberal  quantity  of 
powder,  so  that  the  pieces  may  be  small  enough  to  be 
handled  readily.  If  the  shot  misses — that  is,  if  the 
fuse  fails  to  carry  the  fire  to  the  cap  or  the  cap  does 
not  explode — the  hole  should  not  be  picked  out,  as  the 
drill  is  likely  to  strike  fire  and  ignite  the  fuse,  or  it 
may  hit  the  cap  and  cause  it  to  explode.  Only  expe- 
rienced men  should  be  allowed  to  handle  dynamite, 
and  it  should  never  be  carried  in  the  well  or  bed  of  a 
hand  car,  as  a  collision  may  take  place  or  something 
be  dropped  on  it  and  cause  an  explosion.  If  it  is 
necessary  to  carry  a  few  sticks  along  on  a  car  they 
should  be  taken  in  the  pocket  or  hand  of  some  one  who 
will  take  care  of  them.  Frozen  dynamite  will  not  al- 
ways explode,  and  must  be  thawed  out  in  manure  or 
warm  water,  not  too  hot,  and  never  while  vessel  is  in 
contact  with  the  fire. 

Protecting  embankments.  Much  trouble  is  often 
experienced  in  protecting  railroad  embankments  from 
being  cut  away  by  the  currents  of  mountain  streams. 
If  the  track  is  in  a  narrow  canyon  where  the  water  runs 
swiftly  and  deep,  solid  masonry  walls  afford  the  most 
reliable  protection ;  but  if  the  width  of  the  stream  will 
permit,  a  good  wall  having  a  slope  of  ''one  to  one" 
may  be  made  of  uncut  sandstone  by  using  selected 
stones  from  two  to  three  feet  square  and  from  six  to 
twelve  inches  thick.  The  foundation  should,  if  pos- 
sible, be  laid  on  bedrock,  but  in  the  absence  of  this 
the  foundation  may  be  of  loose  rock,  laid  in  a  trench 
about  six  feet  wide  and  at  least  three  feet  below  the 
line  of  scour  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.     Much  depends 


250  THE  TRACKjVIAN'S  HELPER  ' 

on  getting-  down  below  the  line  of  shifting  sands  during 
liigh  water,  and  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  in- 
creased depth  of  scour  that  may  be  caused  by  the 
water  being  deflected  or  confined  b}^  the  wall.  After 
the  loose  rock  is  put  in  place  and  interstices  filled  with 
sand  a  line  of  the  large  square  stones  may  be  laid  on 
top  with  the  face  in  the  center  of  the  foundation  and 
backed  b}^  loose  rock  carefully  packed  and  to  a  height 
equal  to  the  top  of  the  first  line  of  stones.  Then  an- 
other layer  of  stones  may  be  laid  on  the  first,  but  at  a 
distance  back  of  the  first  line  equal  to  the  average 
thickness  of  the  stones,  when  the  backing  may  be  again 
brought  up  to  the  level  of  the  stones,  and  so  on,  mak- 
ing a  wall  somewhat  like  a  stairway  the  height  and 
width  of  the  steps  being  equal.  This  makes  a  good, 
strong  wall  at  a  cost  less  than  solid  masonry,  but,  like 
the  masonr}^,  its  life  depends  largely  on  the  security 
of  the  foundation.  When  sandstone  is  not  to  be  had, 
such  walls  are  often  built,  but  without  the  steps,  of 
smelter  slag.  This  is  melted  rock,  and  is  heavier  than 
sandstone,  and  when  well  laid  with  the  smooth  side  out 
presents  a  nice  appearance ;  but  it  is  impossible  to 
make  the  pieces  fit  closely,  and,  being  small,  they  are 
easily  knocked  out  of  place  by  floating  driftwood, 
logs,  etc.,  and  if  the  current  is  swift,  in  a  few  years 
the  carefully  laid  wall  looks  like  common  loose  rip- 
rap. Where  the  width  of  the  stream  is  ample,  or 
where  there  is  no  reason  for  building  masonry  or 
other  walls,  ordinary  riprap  may  be  employed  to  pro- 
tect the  embankments.  This  is  made  by  dumping 
stones,  slag  or  like  material  over  the  bank  of  the  river 
until  it  is  entirely  coated  from  top  to  bottom  to  a  depth 
of  from  perhaps  two  feet  at  the  top  to  ten  feet  or 
more  at  the  bottom,  depending  on  the  shape  of  the 
bank  and  on  the  slope  given  to  the  riprap.  No 
foundation  need  be  provided,  as  the  loose  rock  will  roll 


SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  ON  MOUNTAIN  ROADS      251 

down  and  fill  up  any  holes  scoured  out  by  the  water. 
The  amount  of  rock  on  the  side  of  the  bank  should  be 
in  proportion  to  the  depth  and  volume  of  water  that 
may  pass  this  point  when  the  river  is  full.  If  the 
course  of  the  stream  lies  parallel  with  the  track  the 
slope  of  the  riprap  may  be  about  one  and  one-half  to 
one ;  but  if  the  water  strikes  the  bank  at  an  angle  the 
lower  half  of  the  slope  should  be  at  least  two  to  one. 
It  may  frequently  be  noticed  that  a  bar  of  loose 
boulders  a  few  feet  high  and  sloping  into  the  water  at  a 
slight  incline  will  hold  its  place  and  turn  the  course 
of  the  stream  while  if  a  wall  of  these  same  loose 
boulders  were  run  out  into  the  stream  it  would  be 
swept  away  by  the  first  flood.  This  shows  that  the  cur- 
rent of  a  stream  cannot  be  turned  by  loose  rock  unless 
it  is  laid  with  a  long  slope  or  incline,  and  the  longer 
the  incline,  especially  of  the  lower  portion,  the  greater 
will  be  its  power  of  resistance. 

Stone  cribs  laid  parallel  to  the  track  or  projecting 
down  and  outward  into  the  stream  are  used  in  many 
places  to  prevent  the  water  from  cutting  away  the 
bank.  They  are  simple  in  construction,  being  long 
boxes  made  of  logs  properly  notched  at  the  ends,  laid 
somewhat  like  the  walls  of  a  log  cabin,  or  they  may  be 
made  of  timbers.  In  either  case  they  are  drift-bolted 
at  the  corners  and  through  the  cross  stays,  which  may 
be  placed  in  rows  about  ten  feet  apart,  and  then  the 
whole  is  filled  with  loose  rock  or  slag.  When  laid  on 
a  good  foundation  they  answer  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  bii^ilt  very  well,  but  the  cost  of  material 
and  labor  required  in  building  the  crib  is  consider- 
able. 

Work  in  tunnels.  Eepairing  track  in  long,  dark 
tunnels  presents  problems  to  the  section  foreman  not 
often  encountered  elsewhere.  They  are  cut  through 
formations  ranging  from  loose  sand  or  clay  to  solid 


252  THE  TRACKMAN  S  HELPER 

granite ;  they  may  be  straight  or  curved,  level,  or  with 
a  grade  uniform  from  one  end  to  the  other,  or  from 
the  center  each  way. 

If  lined  with  brick  or  stone  they  are  usually  dry; 
if  wood  is  used  there  may  be  wet  spots  in  the  tunnel 
where  the  water  leaks  through.  If  the  tunnel  is 
through  rock,  seams  or  cracks  are  often  met,  through 
which  water  pours  the  year  around.  In  the  winter 
it  requires  considerable  labor  in  such  a  tunnel  to  keep 
the  rails  free  from  ice  and  attend  to  the  heaved  places 
in  the  track.  In  all  wet  tunnels  the  ballast  should  be 
broken  stone,  and  ample  provision  made  for  drainage. 
If  a  rock  tunnel  has  but  few  seams,  the  water  may  be 
kept  out  by  filling  them  with  good  cement,  but  if  the 
rock  is  badly  cracked  this  cannot  be  done  without  con- 
siderable expense,  although  it  will  probably  pay  in  the 
end.  Open  ditches  are  in  most  cases  relied  on  to  carry 
off  the  water,  and  as  they  do  not  fill  up  except  with 
ice  in  the  winter  they  are  about  as  good  as  any  system 
of  pipes  or  tiling.  In  dry  tunnels  gravel  or  cinders, 
or  in  fact  any  material,  makes  good  ballast,  because  it 
is  not  affected  by  wet  weather.  Track  in  tunnels  can- 
not be  raised  without  diminishing  the  clearance  over- 
head. This  clearance  is  a  matter  of  record  and  is  the 
basis  of  information  as  to  what  sizes  of  cars,  etc.,  may 
be  safely  sent  over  the  line.  Therefore,  foremen  should 
not  raise  track  in  tunnels  without  permission  from 
their  superiors.  The  width  of  tunnels  for  standard 
gage  track  is  never  less  than  thirteen  feet,  and  when 
putting  in  ties  in  rock  tunnels,  it  is  cheapest  to  take 
out  two  adjoining  ones  at  the  same  time,  even  if  one  is 
sound  and  must  be  put  back  when  the  new  tie  is  put 
in.  Fig.  50  will  show  how  ties  may  be  taken  out  or 
put  in  where  the  width  of  the  tunnel  is  thirteen  feet 
or  more  and  the  ties  do  not  exceed  eighteen  to  the  rail. 

One  tie  (a)  is  taken  out  on  one  side  and  slewed  in  one 
direction,  and  the  other  (b)  on  the  opposite  side  and 


SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  ON  MOUNTAIN  ROADS      253 


slewed  the  other  way.  Where  rock  does  not  interfere 
ties  may  be  taken  out  by  digging  a  trench  (c),  sloping 
from  the  rail  down  and  outward  to  the  wall  of  the 
tunnel,  then  pull  the  tie  to  that  side  until  the  other 
end  can  be  raised  over  the  other  rail  and  the  tie  pulled 
out.     As  the  back  end  of  the  trench  need  be  only  about 


/////////////// 


Line  of  Tunnel, 


LummmmjUi 


Line  of  Tunnel 

Fig.  50.     Replacing  Ties  in  Tunnel 

a  foot  deep,  less  ballast  is  handled  than  in  the  first 
method,  which  should  be  employed  only  where  a  trench 
cannot  be  dug.  To  line  track  in  a  long  tunnel,  get  a 
pole  long  enough  to  reach  from  wall  to  wall  at  a  point 
level  with  the  top  of  the  rail,  then  find  and  mark  the 
exact  center.     Next  make  a  mark  at  the  center  of  the 


254  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

rail  gage,  lay  the  gage  and  the  pole  across  the  track 
side  by  side  and  throw  the  track  until  the  mark  on  the 
gage  comes  even  with  the  mark  on  the  pole.  This  may 
be  done  to  get  centers  at  points  fifty  feet  apart,  and 
then  the  track  can  be  lined  according  to  those  points. 
If  the  tunnel  is  dark  a  torch  or  lantern  may  be  held 
over  the  rail  to  give  light.  The  foregoing  in  regard  to 
tunnels  will  apply  also  to  track  repairs  in  snow  sheds. 


XVIII 

FROGS   AND    SWITCHES 

Turnouts.  A  turnout  is  a  curved  track  by  which  a 
car  may  pass  from  one  track  to  another,  the  principal 
parts  of  which  are  a  frog  and  a  switch  with  a  con- 
necting- piece  of  track  called  the  '4ead. "  The  frog  is 
a  device  whereby  two  rails  may  cross  each  other  in 
such  a  manner  that  a  wheel  rolling  along  either  rail 
will  have  an  unobstructed  flangeway  while  crossing 
the  other.  A  switch  consists  of  two  rails,  each  of 
which  has  one  end  free  to  move,  so  connected  by  cross 
rods  that  they  move  parallel  with  each  other,  whereby 
a  car  may  be  switched  or  shunted  from  the  main  track 
on  to  the  turnout  track.  Originally  switches  were 
generally  of  the  ' '  stub  ^ '  variety  but  of  late  years  these 
have  become  obsolete  and  we  have  now  practically  only 
''split"  switches  or  "point"  switches,  the  simplest 
form  of  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  51. 

The  upper  illustration.  Fig.  51,  shows  the  switch  set 
for  side  track  while  the  lower  figure  shows  it  set  for 
the  main  track.  The  rails  A  B  &  Gr  D  are  called 
''stock"  rails,  ^are  continuous  and  spiked  their  full 
length.  E  and  F  are  called  the  "point"  rails  and  are 
usually  fastened  at  their  heels,  HH,  by  angle  bars  to 
the  lead  rails.  The  point  rails  are  as  a  rule  straight 
and  are  planed  in  such  a  manner  that  they  bear  against 
the  solid  rail  for  a  length  of  6  or  7  ft.  or  more.  The 
"throw"  of  the  point,  which  means  the  lateral  dis- 
tance that  the  two  switch  rail  points  move  at  right 

angles  with  the  main  track,  in  order  to  change  the 

255 


25t> 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELrER 


route  of  traffic  from  one  track  to  another,  is  about  4^/^ 
or  5  in.,  and  the  clear  space  at  the  heel  between  gage 
lines  is  usually  6  in.  or  at  least  5  in.  In  order  to  de- 
termine whether  a  point  is  a  left  or  right  hand  one, 


Fig.  51 


stand  at  the  point  of  the  switch  and  face  the  heel  or  at 
the  switch  and  face  the  frog.  The  point  at  your 
right  hand  is  the  right  hand  switch  point  and  the 
other  one  is  the  left. 

Temporary  turnouts  without  frogs  and  switches. 
Mr.  Andrew  Palm,  Roadmaster  for  the  C.  C.  T.  Co., 
was  once  required  to  spur  out  one  car,  using  the  ordi- 
nary method  of  stripping  out  and  lining  over  the 
track.  Upon  investigation  the  ties  in  the  main  track 
were  found  to  be  so  decayed  that  they  would  not  sur- 
vive the  operations  of  digging  out,  lining  over  and 
lining  back  again.  Naturally  it  was  not  desirable  to 
renew  ties  for  60  ft.  or  more  of  track  in  order  to  spur 
out  one  car,  and  if  left  undisturbed  it  was  estimated 
that  the  old  ties  had  a  vear  or  more  of  life  still  left 
in  them.  Therefore,  ^Ir.  Palm  used  the  very  in- 
genious plan  which  is  described  below.  The  spikes 
were  drawn  and  the  main  track  rails  lined  over  and 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES  257 

connected  to  the  temjDorary  track  with  angle  bars,  and 
spiked  to  gage,  enough  short  ties  being  laced  in  to 
hold  the  track  meanwhile.  The  quotations  are  from 
Mr.  Palm's  article  in  Ry.  Eng.  &  :\L  of  W. 

''This  is  nothing  more  than  the  old  stub  switch 
method  with  the  frog  and  guard  rails  omitted. 

''We  all  know  that  it  is  undesirable  to  place  in 
main  lines  any  switches  that  are  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary, so  quite  frequently  I  lay  one  of  these  temporary 
turnouts  in  preference  to  the  standard  switch  and  frog 
turnouts.  From  a  safety  standpoint,  they  are  ideal, 
and  can  be  constructed  for  less  than  half  the  cost  of 
the  standard  point  switch. 

"Our  main  lines  are  laid  'broken  joints'  and  when 
we  decide  to  lay  a  track  of  this  character  we  take  two 
half  rails,  using  one  to  even  the  joints  at  the  point 
where  we  wish  to  begin  our  turnout  and  the  other 
where  the  frog  would  be  placed  in  a  standard  lead; 
this  half  rail  is  used  in  place  of  the  frog  when  we  de- 
sire to  place  on  or  take  cars  from  the  temporary  siding, 
by  simply  releasing  the  half  rail  from  the  main  line 
and  laying  it  in  the  open  space  in  the  turnout,  and 
when  the  cars  have  been  taken  out  or  placed  in,  the 
rail  is  taken  up  and  relaid  in  the  main  line  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  turnout;  all  that  is  necessary  is  to 
remove  the  angle  bars  from  the  main  line  and  a  few 
spikes  from  the  inside  of  one  rail,  and  the  same  amount 
of  spikes  from  the  outside  of  the  rail  opposite  back  of 
the  joints  where  this  connection  is  to  be  made  with 
the  turnout:  by  using  the  angle  bars  to  make  this 
connection  there  is  no  likelihood  of  a  derailment,  while 
there  would  be  if  the  joints  were  left  open  as 
they  were  in  the  days  when  stub -switches  were  in 
vogue. 

"I  prefer  this  method  for  'spurring  out'  extra  gang 
outfits  to  the  old  way :  digging  out  between  the  ties  for 
three  rail  lengths,  then  opening  the  main  line  and 


258  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

lining  the  main  track  out  to  connect  with  the  tempo- 
rary spur.  This  I  consider  bad  practice,  as  the  road- 
bed is  badly  disturbed,  ties  are  skewed,  which  renders 
it  necessary  to  re-space  the  ties  and  to  correct  the 
gage  of  the  main  line  rails  after  each  time  the  track 
has  been  '  cut. ' 

"By  the  method  which  I  am  submitting,  the  road- 
bed is  disturbed  but  very  little,  the  ties  not  at  all, 
for  cross-ties  are  inserted  between  those  in  the  main 
line  to  support  the  lead  rails. 

"I  also  prefer  using  this  'layout'  instead  of  tracks 
with  standard  turnouts  for  temporary  use  by  extra 
gang  outfit  cars,  for  we  then  have  the  cars  isolated, 
and  switchmen  and  trainmen  cannot  use  the  track  for 
storing  or  setting  out  commercial  cars. 

"We  continually  have  complaints  from  extra  gang 
foremen  as  to  the  rough  usage  their  outfits  are  receiv- 
ing at  night  by  cars  being  'kicked  in'  against  them. 

"In  the  construction  of  new  railroads  we  find  this 
'layout'  very  useful ;  often  we  have  to  construct  sidings 
for  track-laying  and  surfacing  gangs,  and  more  often 
than  otherwise  we  are  short  of  frogs  and  switches ;  we 
lay  these  sidings  at  points  where  permanent  sidings 
are  to  be  located,  and  later,  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
frogs  and  switches,  the  standard  turnouts  are  installed. 

"Our  switch  leads  are  for  a  No.  10  frog,  whose 
length  is  16i/^  feet,  or  half  the  length  of  a  33-foot  rail, 
so  when  we  'square'  the  joints  for  the  temporary 
turnouts  we  have  done  that  much  toward  the  installa- 
tion of  the  permanent  switches. 

"Unless  we  used  this  temporary  lead,  we  would 
often  be  compelled  to  have  our  material  trains  go 
fifteen  to  twenty  miles  to  pass  each  other ;  we  can  pass 
the  trains  by  switching  the  empty  train  onto  one  of 
these  sidings  and  thereby  allow  the  loaded  train  to 
proceed  to  the  front,  resulting  in  the  saving  of  many 
hours  of  valuable  time.    We  have  passed  these  trains 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES 


259 


with  only  two  trackmen,  an  assistant  foreman  and  one 
laborer  making  the  necessary  changes. 

' '  In  any  case  where  the  lined  over  track  is  left  at  a 
pretty  sharp  curve,  the  locomotive  should  not  be 
pushed  in  on  the  curve.  The  best  arrangement  is  to 
have  a  number  of  empty  flats  between  the  car  or  cars 
to  be  spurred  out  and  the  locomotive.     In  this  way  the 


/^ain  Line 


Lined 


Fig.  52.  (  Turnout  Without   Frog  or   Points 


light  empty  flat  cars  will  pass  over  the  track  without 
spreading  it  or  getting  off  the  track  as  a  locomotive  is 
apt  to. 

"With  a  well  trained  and  organized  gang  three  or 
four  cars  may  be  spurred  out  in  this  way  and  the  track 
closed  in  ten  minutes,  after  thorough  preliminary 
preparations  have  been  made." 


260 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


Laying  switches.  Locate  the  frog  with  a  view  to 
cutting  the  least  possible  number  of  rails.  After  you 
have  determined  where  the  frog  point  will  come,  mark 
the  place  on  the  track  rail,  take  from  the  turnout  table 
the  distance  from  the  switch  point  to  point  of  frog 
corresponding-  to  the  number  of  the  frog  which  is 
used.  The  head  block  can  now  be  located  by  meas- 
uring the  total  distance  obtained  from  the  frog  point. 

Make  marks  with  chalk  along  the  flanges  of  the  rail 
between  the  head  block  and  frog,  so  that  the  switch 
ties  can  all  be  placed  the  proper  distances  apart  from 
center  to  center.  After  the  switch  ties  have  all  been 
arranged  according  to  their  proper  lengths,  lay  them 


p 

r 

• 

I- 

■ 

- 

r 

-t            p 

1       r 

p 

r~ 

T    r 

"j      n 

"1          F 

"J          p 

] 

]4 

III 

x_ 

1 

■^ 

1 

— 

f 

-: 

f 

Main 
Line 

J 

- 

■       t 

J~" 

f 

¥ 

m 

iX 

/ 

- 

- 

Fig.  53.     Method    of    Spurring    Out    Cars 


out  alongside  the  track,  and  see  that  each  tie  is  num- 
bered, and  in  its  proper  place  as  it  will  lie  in  the  track. 
Then  take  out  the  old  ties  and  pull  in  each  new  tie 
in  regular  order. 

When  pulling  the  ends  of  the  ties  to  line,  time  can 
be  saved  by  using  a  gauge,  made  by  nailing  a  cleat 
across  a  piece  of  board,  allowing  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  to  project  beyond  the  cleat.  Have  this  gage 
square  at  each  end,  lay  it  with  the  cleat  against  the 
end  of  each  tie  and  draw  a  chalk  line  across  the  tie 
at  the  end  of  the  board,  marking  all  the  ties  the  same 
length  from  the  end.  This  chalk  line  should  be  placed 
so  as  to  mark  the  position  of  the  outside  flange  of  the 
rail  or  where  the  spikes  are  to  be  driven  on  the  line 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES  261 

side.  When  the  ties  are  all  in  place  under  the  track, 
the  ends  of  all  the  ties  will  line  uniformly  on  the  line 
side  but  how  closely  they  will  line  up  on  the  turnout 
side  depends  on  how  nearly  to  length  the  switch  ties 
have  been  cut  or  selected  to  suit  the  turnout  curve. 
This  is  a  much  better  way  than  measuring  the  end  of 
each  tie  with  a  stick  or  the  maul  handle.  The  switch 
ties  should  be  put  in  from  either  end,  just  as  you  have 
the  time  to  spare  between  trains.  If  trains  are  run- 
ning close  together  begin  at  head  blocks  and  select  the 
time  longest  between  trains  to  put  in  frog  and  lead. 
At  least  two  long  switch  ties  should  be  put  in  behind 
the  frog  to  avoid  adzing  and  crowding  short  ties  past 
each  other  where  the  two  tracks  separate. 

No  frog  should  be  put  in  until  the  main  track  guard 
rail  is  first  secure  in  its  proper  place ;  otherwise  the 
first  train  that  comes  along  facing  the  frog  may  be 
derailed. 

To  put  in  a  turn-out  proceed  as  follows : 

1.  Locate  the  frog  and  switch  point  and  put  in  the 
turn-out  ties,  as  described  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

2.  Put  slide  plates  and  braces  under  the  unbroken 
side  of  main  track,  placing  shims  of  the  proper  thick- 
ness on  the  ties  at  the  opposite  rail  where  plates  are  to 
be  used. 

3.  Line  and  full  spike  the  unbroken  side  on  new  ties 
and  spike  the  guard  rail  to  proper  position. 

4.  Couple  up  frog  and  main  track  lead  rail  and  main 
track  switch  point  on  the  new  ties  on  the  turn-out  side, 
doing  such  cutting  and  drilling  as  may  be  required 
to  complete  the  main  track  lead  to  the  proper  length 
from  the  point  of  the  switch  to  the  heel  of  the  frog. 

5.  Break  the  main  track  at  the  position  of  the  heel 
of  the  frog  and  throw  the  main  track  rail  for  the 
siding,  bending  the  stock  rail  at  the  same  time.  This 
can  be  done  without  taking  the  stock  rail  out  of  the 
track.     Throw  in  the  main  track  lead,  which  has  al- 


262  THE  TRACKIMAN'S  HELPER 

ready  been  coupled,  bolt  the  main  track  end  of  the 
frog,  and  then  spike  the  new  section  to  the  proper 
gage  from  the  frog  to  switch,  putting  on  the  proper 
slides  and  braces. 

6.  Couple  up  the  switch  point  for  the  siding  by 
means  of  the  proper  rods,  making  such  adjustments 
in  the  rods  as  are  necessary.  Cut  the  rails  to  com- 
plete the  siding  turn-out  from  the  heel  of  the  switch 
to  the  point  of  the  frog,  and  spike  the  siding  lead  to 
the  proper  line  for  the  turn-out  curve. 

7.  Complete  the  work  of  laying  the  turn-out  by  the 
necessary  spiking,  gaging  and  adjustment  of  switch 
stand. 

Table  of  switch  leads.  A  great  many  tables  of  leads 
have  been  published  of  which,  except  where  one  has 
been  copied  from  another,  practically  no  two  are  ex- 
actly alike.  The  reason  for  this  is  because  the  lead 
depends  upon  a  considerable  number  of  factors  which 
vary  among  the  different  railroads  and  wi1;h  the 
different  lengths  of  switches  and  frogs.  A  large  rail- 
road system  with  modern  standards  for  frogs  and 
switches  will  nevertheless  have  a  quantity  of  perfectly 
serviceable  material  that  is  not  exactly  in  accord  with 
the  standard  drawings  and  yet  which  must  be  utilized 
in  the  track.  Consequently  any  one  table  of  leads 
will  not  be  theoretically  correct  for  all  the  material  on 
hand. 

An  elaborate  set  of  tables  for  a  great  many  different 
conditions  of  frog  and  switch  length,  etc.,  is  published 
in  the  new  edition  of  Practical  Switch  "Work,  issued 
by  the  publishers  of  this  book. 

If  a  frosr  is  set  within  a  few  inches  of  its  theoretical 
position,  provided  that  the  turnout  rail  be  accurately 
lined,  the  lead  will  work  properly  and  no  one  will 
notice  its  lack  of  theoretical  correctness  in  riding  over 
it,  except  at  very  high  speed.  Therefore  it  is  pos- 
sible to  design  a  table  for  average  conditions,  being 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES  263 

absolutely  accurate  for  those  average  conditions,  and 
sufficiently  near  the  standards  likely  to  be  adopted 
to  work  well  in  practice.  Such  a  table,  which  was 
designed  to  meet  just  such  average  conditions,  and 
which  has  been  used  in  practice  for  a  number  of  years 
with  entire  satisfaction,  is  given  herewith. 

With  the  diagram  illustrating  the  table  are  given 
for  the  use  of  engineers  the  formulas  by  which  the 
table  has  been  calculated. 

Arrangement  of  tables.  The  table  runs  from  frog 
numbers  4  to  20  inclusive,  with  three  intermediate  frog 
numbers,  4^/^,  5i^  and  6i/4.  There  are  other  half 
numbers  of  course,  but  they  are  so  little  used  that  it 
has  not  been  thought  worth  while  to  put  them  in  this 
table. 

The  first  column  of  the  table  gives  the  frog  num- 
ber, the  second  the  frog  angle,  and  the  third  gives  the 
distance  in  feet  from  the  theoretical  point  of  frog  to 
the  toe  of  frog.  It  is  here  assumed  that  this  distance 
is  in  even  feet,  whereas  it  frequently  happens  that  it 
may  be  6  ft.  9  in.,  or  6  ft.  3  in.,  or  7  ft.  10  in.,  etc., 
as  the  ease  may  be.  This,  however,  will  have  a  very 
small  effect  upon  the  actual  length  of  lead  and  the 
distances  given  in  the  table  are  near  enough  to  those 
actually  used  in  practice  for  all  practical  purposes. 
The  fourth  column  gives  the  spread  of  the  frog  at 
the  toe,  based  upon  the  number  of  the  frog  and  the 
assumed  distance  in  column  3.  It  is  given  in  hun- 
dredths of  a,  foot,  and  is  the  same  as  that  given  in 
the  third  column,  divided  by  the  frog  number.  The 
fifth  column  headed  ''Planing  of  Switch  Rail,"  gives 
the  assumed  distance  from  the  point  of  the  switch  to 
the  point  at  which  the  switch  rail  commences  to  curve 
toward  the  frog,  usually  where  the  planing  runs  out 
on  the  head  of  the  switch  rail.  Thjs  also  varies  a 
good  deal  in  practice,  and  theoretically  would  intro- 
duce more  variation  in  the  correct  theoretical  length 


Table  for  point  leads. 


Z  f  ^ea</  3/oc/c /o  Theo  fro^ Pi!-' 


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264 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES 


265 


of  lead  and  variations  in  the  distance  from  point  of 
frog  to  the  toe  of  frog,  but  as  we  have  said  above, 
it  is  sufficiently  accurate  for  all  practical  purposes  of 
this  table.  The  next  column,  headed  with  a  small 
"t,"  ^'Spread  of  Switch  Rail  at  Heel  or  End  of  Plan- 
ing," gives  the  distance  separating  the  switch  rail 


F==:=^— 

|3" 
'^7 

i^A 

i , 

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c 

^^ 

.     3'-0-      , 

9'-0" 

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-^ — ^ 

Fig.  55.     Typical   Guard   Rail 


from  the  main  rail  at  the  point  where  the  switch  rail 
starts  to  curve  toward  the  frog,  and  where  this  is  at 
the  end  of  planing  it  will  be  equal  to  the  width  of  a 
rail  head,  or  about  0.22  of  a  ft.  The  column  headed 
"  G "  is  the  gage  of  the  track  minus  the  spread  of  toe 
of  the  frog  and  the  spread  of  the  switch  rail  at  heel 
or  end  of  planing.  The  other  columns  are  explained 
by  their  captions  in  the  table. 

fTrue  Point 
Blunt  Point 


'y- 


56 


Standard    Frog 


Frogs.  Fig.  56  is  an  outline  diagram  of  a  frog. 
The  triangle  C  A  E  is  the  tongue.  C  E  is  the  heel  of 
the  tongue.  The  channel  at  K  is  the  mouth.  Its  nar- 
row part,  F  H,  is  the  throat.  The  wings,  F  G,  and 
H  I,  support  the  treads  of  the  wheels  from  the  point 
B,  to  the  throat.     L  M  is  the  heel  of  the  frog.     The 


266  THE  TEACKMAN'S  HELPER 

angle  is  the  divergence  of  the  lines,  A  C  and  A  E. 
The  intersection  of  the  lines  at  A  is  the  true  "the- 
oretical ' '  point  of  the  frog.  As  this  point  is  too  weak 
for  service,  it  is  rounded  off  where  the  tongue  is  about 
one-half  inch  wide.  The  frog  number  is  the  ratio  of 
the  perpendicular,  A  D,  the  length  of  the  point  to  the 
base,  C  E.  Thus,  if  the  length,  A  D,  be  7,  9  or  10 
times  C  E,  the  frog  is  called  a  No.  7,  9  or  10  frog. 
The  angle  of  the  frog  is  determined  approximately  by 
dividing  57% o  degrees  by  the  number  of  the  frog. 
To  get  the  number  of  a  frog  one  of  the  following  ways 
mav  be  used : 

1.  Take  a  short  stick  say  six  inches  long,  lay  this  on 


Fic^.  57.     Conlev    All    Rail    Froor 


the  heel  of  the  frog  where  the  spread  of  the  frog 
equals  the  length  of  the  stick;  then  from  this  point 
measure  with  the  stick  to  the  theoretical  point  of  the 
frog ;  if  it  is  seven  times  the  length  of  the  stick  it  will 
be  a  number  seven ;  if  eight  times,  a  number  eight,  etc. 

2.  Measure  with  a  rule  and  find  where  the  spread 
is  four  inches;  mark  this  point;  then  get  where  it  is 
five  inches;  also  mark  this;  then  the  length  in  inches 
from  where  it  is  four  to  five  inches  measured  along 
the  rail  will  be  the  number  of  the  frog. 

3.  Add  the  spread  between  the  gage  lines  at  the 
heel  to  the  spread  at  toe  in  inches  and  divide  this  into 
total  length  of  frog  in  inches;  the  result  will  be  the 
number. 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES  267 

4.  Divide  the  spread  between  gage  lines  at  the  heel 
of  frog  in  inches  into  length  along  the  rail  from  heel 
to  theoretical  point  in  inches;  result  will  be  the  num- 
ber. 

5.  Divide  the  spread  between  gage  lines  at  toe  in 
inches  into  length  along  rail  from  toe  to  theoretical 
point  in  inches;  the  result  will  be  the  number. 

In  order  to  make  the  main  line  rail  as  continuous  as 
possible,  spring  frogs  are  introduced.  These  are  right 
and  left  handed.  To  determine  whether  right  or  left, 
stand  at  the  toe  and  face  the  heel;  if  the  spring  rail 
is  at  the  left  it  is  left-handed;  if  at  the  right,  it  is 
right-handed. 

Laying  frogs  in  track.  When  putting  frogs  into  a 
track  care  should  be  taken  to  have  them  in  a  true  line 
and  level  with  the  track  rails  which  are  connected  to 
them.  The  gage  rail,  opposite  the  frog,  should  be  put 
to  a  perfect  gage  for  the  full  length  of  the  frog.  Fore- 
men should  see  that  frogs  are  not  allowed  to  fill  up 
with  ice  or  snow  in  the  winter  season,  and  when  foot 
guards  for  the  protection  of  trainmen  are  provided, 
it  should  be  seen  to  that  they  are  always  kept  properly 
in  place  to  prevent  any  liability  of  accident. 

Length  of  frogs.  Long  frogs  and  long  switch  leads 
are  best  where  it  is  practicable  to  use  them;  the  rails 
in  short  switch  leads  soon  wear  out.  If  the  switch 
lead  is  long,  the  saving  effected  in  the  wear  of  the  rails 
and  rolling  stock  is  considerable.  A  valuable  feature 
in  a  frog  is  to  have  it  of  such  a  length  that  Yery  little 
cutting  of  rails'  is  necessary  w^hen  putting  in  a  new 
switch.  When  full  length  rails  can  be  used  in  a 
switch  it  saves  time,  labor  and  material.  For  this 
purpose  a  foot  or  two  is  often  added  to  the  lead. 

Crossing  frogs  are  used  where  one  track  crosses 
another.  They  are  generally  supported  by  long  ties 
or  switch  timber.  Where  one  road  is  double-tracked, 
the  frogs  are  difficult  to  keep  in  line,  owing  to  the 


268  THE  TRACIv^IAN'S  HELPER 

tracks  of  the  double  line  often  creeping  in  opposite 
directions. 

Guard  rails.  The  guard  rail  at  frogs  is  used  to  pre- 
vent the  car  and  locomotive  wheels  from  crossing  the 
point  of  the  frog  on  the  wrong  side  when  trains  are 
passing  over  it.  The  length  and  shape  of  a  guard  rail 
adopted  as  the  standard  should  be  used  with  all  frogs 
in  service  on  the  same  road.  Guard  rails  should  be 
preferably  ten  feet  in  length  or  over ;  fifteen  feet  and 
fifteen  and  a  half  feet  are  ordinary  lengths;  for  the 
higher  numbered  frogs  longer  ones  are  used.  Enough 
of  the  middle  of  the  guard  rail  should  be  spiked  down 
parallel  with  the  track  rail,  opposite  the  point  of  the 
frog,  to  secure  ample  protection.  The  guard  rail  may 
be  secured  by  spiking  it  to  the  ties  and  by  clamps,  or 
by  passing  a  bolt  through  the  guard  rail  and  track  rail 
at  each  side  of  that  part  which  is  parallel  with  the 
track  rail,  leaving  between  the  two  rails  a  wheel  chan- 
nel. This  makes  it  unnecessary  to  use  braces  except 
as  additional  precaution.  Fillers  or  separators  may 
be  used  on  the  bolts  between  the  webs  of  the  guard 
and  track  rails,  to  regulate  the  width  of  the  wheel 
channel,  which  should  never  be  more  than  two  inches 
on  a  standard  gage  track.  Also  clamps  may  be  used; 
these  are  of  great  advantage,  especially  when  a  guard 
rail  fills  with  snow. 

The  extreme  ends  of  the  guard  rail  should  be  spiked 
to  the  ties  at  a  distance  of  four  inches  from  the  track 
rail.  This  will  give  the  wheels  an  easy  and  gradual 
approach  to  the  narrower  space  where  the  rails  are 
parallel.  Guard  rails  should  not  be  sprung  to  place 
with  the  track  spikes  but  should  be  bent  to  the  proper 
shape  before  being  laid. 

When  guard  rails  are  made  in  the  company's  shops 
their  ends  should  be  heated  and  hammered  down  or 
cut  on  a  bevel  of  45°  to  form  a  gradual  approach  or 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES  269 

slanting  surface  from  the  base  of  the  rail,  where  it 
rests  on  the  ties,  to  the  top.  This  may  prevent  brake 
beams,  chains,  or  snow  plows,  etc.,  from  catching  on 
the  end  of  the  guard  rail  and  tearing  it  out  of  place. 
It  is  well  to  take  the  same  precaution  with  the  ends 
of  guard  rails  that  cross  bridges  or  go  around  curves 
inside  the  rails  on  main  track.     See  Fig.  55. 

Guard  rails  are  necessary  on  a  railroad,  and  if  the 
track  foreman  has  to  provide  them  when  he  puts  in  a 
new  switch  the  piece  of  rail  which  is  cut  from  a  full 
length  rail  to  let  in  the  frog  will  often  serve  for  a 
guard  rail ;  when  long  enough  it  should  always  be  used 
instead  of  cutting  another  good  rail.  The  width  of 
wheel  flangeway  between  the  guard  rail  and  track  rail 
should  be  from  1%"  to  1%"?  a-^d  no  more,  if  the  wheel 
flangeway  through  the  frog  is  1%"  and  the  track  is  to 
gage. 

A  frequent  error  in  practice  is  to  place  the  guard 
rail  so  that  its  center  will  come  even  with  the  point 
of  the  frog.  The  effect  of  this  is  to  jerk  trailing 
wheels  against  the  end  of  the  frog  wing  rail,  and  if 
the  gage  of  track  happens  to  be  wide  the  frog  bolts 
will  be  broken.  Even  if  the  track  is  in  proper  gage 
the  end  of  the  guard  rail  projecting  beyond  the  end 
of  the  wing  of  the  frog  will  throw  worn  flanged  wheels 
(because  of  their  greater  lateral  play)  against  the  frog 
wing,  thus  subjecting  an  already  weak  flange  to  the 
danger  of  being  broken,  whereas  if  the  projecting 
guard  rail  did  not  alter  the  course  of  the  wheel  it 
would  enter  the  frog  without  a  shock.  The  province 
of  a  guard  rail  is  to  guide  the  facing  wheel  flange 
safely  past  the  point  of  the  frog,  and  where  the  wheel 
has  passed  this  point,  be  it  but  one  inch,  it  has  no  fur- 
ther use  for  a  guard  rail.  Therefore  about  two-thirds 
of  the  guard  rail  should  be  ahead  of  the  point  of  frog 
to  get  the  greatest  amount  of  protection  with  the  ma- 


270  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

terial  used.  The  ends  of  guard  rails  should  not  be 
curved  to  a  short  radius,  but  on  as  easy  a  curve  as 
practicable  so  that  the  wheels  will  be  deflected  gradu- 
ally to  clear  the  frog  point.  Sometimes  a  short  curve 
is  put  in  the  end  of  guard  rails,  but  this  causes  bad 
riding  qualities. 

Switch  timbers.  As  there  is  considerable  difference 
in  the  standards  for  bills  of  material  for  switch  tim- 
bers on  the  different  railroads,  the  following  rules, 
will  be  useful  to  track  foremen: 

Rule — To  ascertain  the  number  of  pieces  needed  for 
any  switch  lead,  find  the  distance  from  the  head  block 
to  the  point  where  the  last  long  tie  will  be  used  behind 
the  frog.  Reduce  this  distance  to  inches,  and  divide  it 
by  the  number  of  inches  from  the  center  of  each  tie  to 
that  of  the  next  one.  This  will  give  the  number  of 
ties  wanted. 

Example — Distance  from  the  head  block  to  the  last 
long  tie  behind  the  frog,  55  feet ;  reduce  to  inches,  660 
inches;  distance  from  center  to  center  of  ties,  20 
inches;  number  of  ties  required,  33. 

The  first  three  of  these  ties  next  the  head  block 
may  be  common  long  oak  cross  ties,  and  if  9  feet  is 
the  shortest  piece  sawed  square  for  a  switch  tie,  and 
14  feet  the  longest  for  a  single  throw  switch,  the  other 
30  pieces  may  be  divided  up,  when  ordering  the  dif- 
ferent lumber  lengths,  as  follows : 

5  pieces,     0  feet  long;  5  pieces,  12  feet  long. 

5  pieces,  10  feet  long;  5  pieces,  13  feet  long. 

5  pieces,  11  feet  long;  5  pieces,  14  feet  long. 

When  odd  lumber  lengths  of  switch  timbers  are 
not  furnished,  then  order  double  the  quantity,  10,  12 
and  14  foot  pieces.  In  large  yards  where  there  is 
very  heavy  traffic,  switch  timbers  should  not  be  laid 
more  than  8  or  9  inches  apart  from  the  face  of  one 
timber  to  the  face  of  the  next  one. 


FKOGS  AND  SWITCHES 


271 


Bills  of  material  of  switch  ties  for  various  turn- 
outs and  crossovers. 


Switch  Ties 

FOR    No.    6 

Switch   Ties 

FOR  No.   7 

Turnout 

Turnout 

No. 

Size 

Length 

No. 

Size 

Length 

2  pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

2 

pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

6     " 

9'     0" 

6 

(C 

(( 

9'     0" 

5     " 

9'     6" 

6 

(( 

(t 

9'     6" 

5     " 

10'— 0" 

5 

ce 

ii 

10'     0" 

2     " 

10'     6" 

4 

a 

a 

10'     6" 

2     " 

ir    0" 

3 

11 

ee 

11'     0" 

2     " 

ir    6" 

2 

(C 

a 

11'     6" 

2     " 

12'     0" 

2 

(( 

a 

12'     0" 

2     " 

12'     6" 

2 

(( 

li 

12'     6" 

o       « 

13'— 0" 

2 

a 

(( 

13'     0" 

2     " 

13'     6" 

3 

i( 

(I 

13'     6" 

2     " 

14'     0" 

2 

(I 

<t 

14'— 0" 

2     " 

14'     6" 

3 

(( 

(( 

14'— 6" 

2     " 

15'     0" 

2 

(( 

ee 

15'— 0" 

36     "  Total  =  2134'  B.M.    42     "         Total  =  2499'  B.M. 

Exclusive  of  head  blocks.  Exclusive  of  head  blocks. 


SWIT 

CH  Ties 

FOR    No.    8 

Smutch  Ties 

FOR  No.  10 

Turnout 

Turnout 

No. 

Size 

Length 

No. 

Size 

Length 

2  pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

2 

pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

9     « 

(e 

9'     0" 

9 

ee 

<( 

9'     0" 

7     " 

<( 

9'     6" 

10 

ee 

(( 

9'     6" 

4     " 

ee 

10'     0" 

6 

ee 

(( 

10'— 0" 

3     " 

ee 

10'     6" 

4 

(C 

ee 

10'— 6" 

3     " 

ee 

11'     0" 

4 

ee 

ee 

11'     0" 

3     " 

ee 

11'     6" 

3 

ee 

ee 

11'     6" 

2     " 

«        ^ 

;      12'    0" 

3 

ee 

ee 

12'— 0" 

2     " 

(( 

12'     6" 

3 

ee 

ee 

12'     6" 

3     " 

(( 

13'     0" 

2 

ee 

ee 

13'     0" 

3     " 

ee 

13'     6" 

3 

ee 

ee 

13'— 6" 

3     " 

ee 

14'     0" 

3 

ee 

ee 

14'     0" 

2     " 

ee 

14'— 6" 

2 

ee 

ee 

14'     6" 

2     " 

ee 

15'— 0" 

3 

ee 

ee 

15'     0" 

46     "         Total  =  2708'  B.M.' 
Exclusive  of  head  blocks. 


55     "  Total  =  3215'  B.M. 

Exclusive  of  head  blocks. 


272 


THE  TIL\CKMANS  HELPER 


Switch  Ties 

FOE  No.   12 

Switch  Ties 

FOB  No.  15 

Turnout 

Turnout 

No. 

Size 

Length 

No. 

Size 

Length 

2  pc. 

V  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

2 

pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

11     " 

(( 

9'     0" 

14 

« 

(( 

9'— 0" 

10     " 

(( 

9'— 6" 

9 

(( 

ii 

9'— 6" 

8     " 

(( 

10'     0" 

9 

11 

(I 

10'     0" 

7     " 

{( 

10'— 6'' 

7 

(I 

It 

10'— 6" 

5     " 

(( 

ir— 0" 

6 

(( 

ti 

11'     0" 

4     " 

a 

11'— 6" 

5 

(I 

It 

11'— 6" 

4     « 

<( 

12'— 0" 

5 

ti 

ti 

12'— 0" 

3     " 

(I 

12'— 6" 

5 

(I 

a 

12'— 6" 

3     " 

« 

13'— 0" 

4 

(( 

it 

13'— 0" 

3     « 

(( 

13'     6" 

4 

(C 

ft 

13'     6" 

3     " 

i( 

14'— 0" 

4 

(I 

if 

14'— 0" 

3     " 

(C 

14'     6" 

4 

it 

it 

14'— 6" 

5     " 

C( 

15'— 0" 

4 

(( 

tt 

15'— 0" 

69     "         Total  =  4062'   B.M. 
Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


80     "         Total  =  4730'  B.M. 
Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


Switch  Ties 

for  No.  20 

Turnout 

No. 

Size 

Length 

2  pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

18  " 

(( 

9'     0" 

18  " 

(( 

9'— 6" 

8  " 

(( 

10'— 0" 

8  " 

tt 

10'— 6" 

7  " 

ft 

11'     0" 

7  " 

tt 

11'— 6" 

6  " 

tt 

12'— 0" 

9  " 

ft 

12'— 6" 

9  " 

(t 

13'— 0" 

6  " 

ft 

13'— 6" 

6  " 

ft 

14'     0" 

5  " 

tt 

14'     6" 

5  " 

ft 

15'— 0" 

5  " 

ft 

15'— 6" 

5  " 

ft 

16'— 0" 

122  "  Total  =  7486'  B.M 

Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES 


273 


Switch  Ties  fob  No.   6 


Switch  Ties  for  No.   7 


Crosso 

VEB 

Crossover 

No. 

Size 

Length 

No. 

Size 

Length 

4 

pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

4 

pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

12 

9'     0" 

12 

(( 

9'— 0" 

10 

9'— 6" 

12 

<( 

9'     6" 

10 

10'— 0" 

10 

« 

10'— 0" 

4 

10'— 6" 

8 

(( 

10'— 6" 

4 

ir— 0" 

6 

(( 

11'     0" 

4 

11'     6" 

4 

(( 

11'— 6" 

4 

12'— 0" 

4 

(( 

12'— 0" 

22 

21'     6" 

26 

(( 

21'— 6" 

70     "  Total  =  5019'  B.M. 

Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


82     "  Total  =  5906'  B.M. 

Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


Switch  Ties  for  No.  8 


Switch  Ties  for  No.  10 


Crossover 

Crossover 

No. 

Size 

Length 

No. 

Size 

Length 

4 

pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

4    pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

18 

(( 

9'— 0" 

18  « 

t( 

9'— 0" 

14 

te 

9'— 6" 

20  " 

(f 

9'— 6" 

8 

ee 

10'— 0" 

12  " 

it 

10'— 0" 

6 

ii 

10'— 6" 

8  " 

(( 

10'     6" 

6 

{( 

11'     0" 

8  " 

(( 

11'     0" 

6 

(( 

11'— 6" 

6  " 

es 

ir— 6" 

4 

« 

12'     0" 

6  " 

<( 

12'— 0" 

32 

(( 

21'— 6" 

31  " 

(( 

21'— 6" 

94     "         Total  =  6872'  B.M. 
Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


109  "  Total  =  7618'  B.M. 

Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


Switch  Ties  for  No.  12 


Switch  Ties  for  No.  15 


Crossover 

Crossover 

No. 

Size 

Length 

No. 

Size 

Lengtli 

4    pc. 

7"  X  9\^  Head  blocks 

4    pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

22  " 

(( 

9'-    0" 

28  " 

(C 

9'     0" 

20  " 

(( 

9'— 6" 

18  " 

tc 

9'     6" 

16  " 

(( 

10^—0" 

18  " 

(( 

10'     0" 

14  " 

(( 

10'     6" 

14  " 

(( 

10'— 6" 

10  " 

(e 

11'     0" 

12  " 

t( 

11'— 0" 

8  " 

t( 

11'     6" 

10  " 

ei 

11'     6" 

8  " 

« 

12'     0" 

10  " 

(e 

12'     0" 

39  " 

« 

21'     6" 

52  " 

(C 

21'     6" 

137  "  Total  =  9618'  B.M. 

Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


162  "        Total  =  11734'  B.M. 
Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 


274  THE  TRACIvMAN'S  HELPER 

Switch  Ties  for  Xo,  20 
Crossover 


No. 

Size 

Length 

4    pc. 

7"  X  9" 

Head  blocks 

36  " 

(( 

9'     0" 

36  " 

(C 

9'     6" 

16  " 

11 

W     0" 

16  " 

(C 

10'  '  6" 

14  " 

l( 

11'— 0" 

14  " 

a 

11'— 6" 

12  " 

a 

12'     0" 

63  " 

(I 

21'     6" 

207  "        Total  =  14742'  B.M. 
Exclusive  of  Head  blocks. 

To  cut  switch  ties  of  the  proper  length. 

Rule — ^Measure  the  length  of  the  tie  next  the  head 
block  and  also  the  length  of  the  last  tie  behind  the 
frog.  Find  the  difference  in  inches  between  the 
lengths  of  the  two  ties,  divide  this  amount  by  the 
number  of  ties  in  the  switch  lead,  and  the  quotient 
should  be  the  increase  in  length  per  tie  from  the  head 
block  towards  the  frog,  to  have  the  ties  line  evenly 
on  both  sides  of  the  track. 

Example — AVe  will  suppose  the  tie  next  to  the  head 
block  to  be  8  feet  6  inches,  or  102  inches  in  length, 
and  the  last  tie  behind  the  frog,  14  feet  or  168  inches 
in  length.  The  difference  in  the  lengths  of  these  two 
ties  is  5  feet  6  inches,  or  QQ  inches;  dividing  by  33, 
the  number  of  ties,  gives  2  inches  as  the  amount  that 
each  tie  must  be  longer  than  the  last. 

Section  foremen  will  find  this  rule  valuable  in  many 
cases,  especially  w^hen  putting  in  a  cross-over  from 
one  track  to  another.  There  is  nothing  gained  by 
having  switch  ties  project  beyond  the  proper  line  of 
track.  They  cause  trouble  in  raising  track,  are  un- 
sightly, and  labor  is  wasted  in  tamping  up  the  long 
ends.     The  switch  ties  may  be  cut  off  to  the  proper 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES  275 

length  and  numbered  with  chalk,  and  the  line  side 
marked  for  the  rail  flange  before  being  put  in  the 
track.  The  work  can  be  done  in  that  way  more  rap^ 
idly  and  better,  and  the  unnecessary  labor  of  digging 
out  for  the  tamping  up  of  long  ends  can  be  dispensed 
with. 

Tamping  switch  ties.  When  a  switch  track  has 
been  raised,  to  surface  the  track  the  switcli  ties  under 
the  frog  and  main  track  rail  should  be  tamped  up 
first.  The  long  ends  of  switch  ties  should  be  tamped 
up  last  and  then  not  as  solid  as  those  under  the  frog. 
Tamping  bars  should  be  used  in  tamping  up  a  switch, 
and  special  care  should  be  taken  to  make  the  ties  as 
solid  as  possible  under  the  frog.  A  turnout  is  all  the 
better  if  the  frog  is  a  shade  higher  than  the  re- 
mainder. If  the  outer  ends  of  switch  ties  are  tamped 
up  first,  unless  the  timbers  are  very  large  they  will 
sag  down  in  the  center  and  the  ends  turn  up,  espe- 
cially if  a  train  is  allowed  to  pass  over  the  switch  be- 
fore the  ties  are  tamped  throughout  their  length. 

A  set  of  switch  timbers  may  be  put  into  a  mud 
track  very  quickly,  and  with  little  or  no  tamping,  by 
the  following  method: — Remove  all  the  old  timbers 
except  a  few  to  support  the  track  rails.  Raise  the 
rails  on  the  supporting  ties  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
higher  than  the  track  surface,  and  level  them  with  a 
spirit  level.  Clear  away  a  bed  for  the  timbers  equal 
to  their  depth,  and  spread  a  little  loose  dirt  on  it; 
then  pull  in  the  timbers,  keeping  their  upper  surface 
close  up  to  the  rails  and  each  timber  level  throughout 
its  length  until  it  is  in  place. 

Putting  in  three-throw  switches.  The  length  of 
switch  ties  in  a  three-throw  switch  is  found  by 
doubling  the  set  for  a  single  turnout,  and  subtracting 
the  length  of  the  standard  cross  tie.  When  putting 
them  in  the  track,  measure  the  length  of  each  tie  and 
draw  a  chalk  line  across  the  middle;  mark  also  the 


276 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


middle  of  the  gage.  Lay  the  gage  on  the  main 
track,  and  as  each  tie  is  put  nnder  the  track,  see  that 
the  chalk  mark  across  the  middle  of  the  tie  comes  di- 
rectly under  the  middle  of  the  gage  of  the  main 
track.  The  approximate  number  of  the  middle  or 
crotch  frog  is  found  by  multiplying  the  number  of 
the  side  frogs  by  the  decimal  .707,  or  by  adding  the 
numbers  of  the  two  side  frogs  together  and  dividing 
by  2.83. 

Derailing  switches.  Fig.  58  illustrates  a  method 
of  derailing  cars  and  is  used  in  cases  where  precau- 
tions are  required  to  prevent  cars  from  accidentally 
running  out  of  the  siding  upon  the  main  track.  When 
putting  in  this  derailing  switch,  drive  a  row  of  spikes 
against  the  inside  flange  of  the  rail,  C,  when  set  for 


«S/V 


'cf/ny 


^c/n 


Fig.  58 


derailing  and  place  rail  braces  on  the  outside  to  sup- 
port and  keep  the  rail  in  place  when  set  for  movement 
to  the  main  track.  It  is  good  policy  to  use  sound  oak 
ties,  spaced  not  more  than  eight  inches  apart  under 
the  moving  rail.  This  presents  a  smoother  surface 
for  the  derailed  cars  than  ties  spaced  in  the  ordinary 
way,  and  prevents  the  wheels  from  sinking  between 
them. 

In  setting  up  switch-stand,  have  the  target  show 
danger  when  the  switch  is  set  for  derailing. 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES  277 

Turnouts  from  curves.  In  turnouts  from  curves, 
the  lead  distance  is  practically  the  same  as  in  turn- 
outs from  a  straight  track.  The  degree  of  curve  of 
the  turnout  is  approximately  increased  by  the  degree 
of  the  main  track  curve,  when  the  turnout  is  with 
the  curve ;  and  decreased  by  the  degree  of  the  main 
track  curve,  when  the  turnout  is  against  the  curve. 
In  turnouts  against  curves,  when  the  degree  of  the 
main  track  curve  is  the  same  as  the  turnout  curve 
corresponding  to  the  frog,  the  lead  will  be  straight; 
when  greater,  the  turnout  curve  will  deflect  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  main  track  curve.  As  curves 
for  the  ordinary  frog  numbers  are  sharp,  avoid  as 
much  as  possible  turnouts  from  the  inside  of  the 
curve. 

In  turnouts  from  curves  the  ordinates  for  a  straight 
track  will  be  increased  by  a  certain  rate  per  degree 
of  main  track  curve,  when  the  turnout  is  laid  with  the 
curve;  and  decreased  by  the  same  rate  per  degree 
wlibn  the  turnout  is  laid  against  the  curve. 

Example: — (1)  Turnout  against  a  main  track 
curve  of  4°,  with  a  No.  8  frog.  In  the  table  for  point 
leads,  page  264,  the  degree  of  the  turnout  curve 
(Column  D)  from  a  straight  track  for  a  No.  8  lead 
is  12°-08',  Subtract  from  this  the  degree  of  the  main 
curve  4°-00'  and  we  have  the  difference  of  8°-08', 
for  the  degree  of  curve  of  the  switch  track,  which  will 
curve  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  of  the  main 
track.  ^ 

(2)  Turnout  against  a  main  track  curve  of  8°,  with 
a  No.  10  frog.  Here  the  degree  of  the  main  track 
curve  is  8°-0';  degree  of  the  turnout,  from  table, 
7°-31'.  This  is  flatter  than  the  main  curve  by  0°-29', 
and  the  switch  curve  therefore  will  be  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  main  track.  Note  that  these  figures 
are'  approximate  only,  and  are  subject  to  the  remarks 
in  the  paragraph  introductory  to  the  table  of  Leads. 


278  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Cross-over  tracks.  To  put  in  a  cross-over  from  one 
track  to  another  where  the  work  has  not  been  laid 
out  by  an  engineer: 

Rule — Put  in  the  first  frog  and  switch  lead  com- 
plete on  one  track.  Then  sight  a  straight  line  along 
the  gage  rail  from  opposite  the  point  of  frog,  which 
you  have  just  put  in  track,  to  the  nearest  rail  of  the 
adjoining  track.  Where  the  line  crosses  the  rail  is 
where  the  point  of  the  next  frog  ought  to  be  located 
to  complete  the  cross-over  if  both  frogs  are  of  the 
same  angle. 

To  find  the  approximate  distance  between  frog^ 
points  in  a  cross-over:  For  12-foot  centers  multiply 
2.58  by  the  number  of  the  frog.  If  the  distance  be- 
tween centers  is  less  than  12  feet,  subtract  the  dif- 
ference from  2.58 ;  if  more,  add  the  difference.  Thus : 
Find  distance  between  frog  points  on  a  No.  10  cross- 
over, distance  between  track  centers,  12  feet;  2.58  X 
10,  equals  25.8  feet. 

If  the  center  distance  is  11  feet,  we  have  as  follows : 
Eleven  feet  is  one  less  than  12  feet ;  hence  we  sub- 
tract 1  from  2.58  and  we  have  1.58 ;  if  a  No.  10  cross- 
over is  to  be  put  in  we  have:  1.58  X  10,  or  15.8.  If 
the  center  distance  were  13  feet  we  would  have  3,58 
X  10,  or  35.8.  These  measurements  are  made  on  the 
main  line  rail. 

Another  method,  which  is  particularly^  important 
when  the  frogs  used  in  the  cross-over  are  of  different 
angles,  is  as  follows :  Add  the  numbers  of  the  two 
frogs  together  and  divide  by  two.  The  result  is  the 
average  number  of  frog  for  cross-over;  now  multiply 
this  by  the  distance  between  gage  lines  of  inside 
rails,  less  the  gage;  or,  where  the  distance  between 
centers  of  two  tracks  is  used,  subtract  twice  the  gage 
from  this  distance  and  multiply  by  average  number 
of  frog. 

Example.    Distance  between  centers  of  two  tracks 


FROGS  AND  S^WTCHES  279 

is  12  ft.  It  is  desired  to  put  in  a  cross-over,  using  a 
No.  10  and  No.  8  frog.  Proved  according  to  rule : 
10  H-  8  =  18  divided  by  2  equals  9.  Then  2.58  X  9 
=  23.22  ft. 

The  distance  between  frog  points  diagonally  in 
any  cross-over  track  put  in  with  the  frogs  mentioned 
in  the  table,  for  distances  between  tracks  of  10  to  15 
feet  is  shown  in  the  following  table.  Where  the  dis- 
tance between  two  tracks  is  greater  than  12  feet,  fore- 
men can  calculate  the  distance  between  the  frog  points 
by  the  rules  preceding  this  table : 

DISTANCE    BETWEEN    ADJACENT    RAILS    IN    FEET 

Frog  No.     7      8      9      10     11      12 
ft.  in.   ft.  in.    ft.  in.   ft.  in.   ft.  in.    ft.  in. 

5  11-6  16-6  21-6  26-6  31-6  36-6 

6  13-9  19-9  2.5-9  31-9  37-8  43-8 

7  16-0  23-0  30-0  37-0  44-0  51-0 

9  18-4  26-4  34-4  42-4  50-4  58-4 

9  20-8  29-8  38-8  47-8  56-7  65-8 

10  23-0    33-0    43-0    53-0    63-0    73-0 

11  25-3    36-3    47-3    58-3    69-3    80-2 

12  27-6    39-6    51-6    63-6    75-6    87-6 

15  34-4    49-4    64-4    79-4    94-4   109-4 

16  36-8    52-8    68-8    84-8   100-8   116-8 

20  46-0    66-0    86-0   106-0   126-0   145-9 

A  reverse  curve  can  be  made  in  the  cross-over  be- 
tween tracks  when  they  are  veiy  far  apart,  and  there 
is  not  room  to  set  it  in  the  regular  way. 

Staggered  switch  points  on  any  curve.  Mr.  W.  F. 
Rench  of  the  P.  R.  R.  has  given  in  Ry.  Age  Gaz.,  the 
following  very  interesting  description  of  a  convenient 
and  useful  device  for  use  on  curves  where  the  switch 
points  are  subject  to  heavy  wear: 

'^  Considerable  economy  is  effected  in  the  wear  of 
switch  points  in  yards  at  points  where  the  service  is 
extreme  by  moving  the  point  of  lesser  wear  back  a 
distance  of  26  in.,  so  that  the  first  lug  of  the  one  point 
and  the  second  lug  of  the  other  are  opposite,  and  in- 


280  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

troducing  a  guard  rail  9  or  10  ft.  long  curved  sharply 
through  12  in.  at  the  end  which  covers  the  switch  and 
in  the  standard  manner  at  the  other  end.  The  guard 
rail  is  set  close  to  the  one  point  which  permits  12  in. 
of  2  in.  flangeway  opposite  the  longer  point.  This 
greatly  increases  the  life  of  the  point  and  is  an  excel- 
lent protection  against  derailment  as  well.  One  set 
of  lugs  must  be  connected  with  the  standard  head  rod 
and  for  entire  safety  each  lug  should  be  connected 
with  the  one  diagonally  opposite.  If  made  on  a  stand- 
ard plan  these  rods  may  be  of  regulation  design,  but  if 
resort  must  be  had  to  makeshift  designs  a  flat  made 
rod  of  21/2  in.  by  %  in.  material  is  quite  satisfactory. 
Care  should  be  taken  that  the  guard  rail,  which  is 
subject  to  a  severe  strain,  is  braced  by  anchor  clamps 
and  at  least  one  tie  plate  guard  rail  fastener. 

''This  arrangement  has  been  used  in  a  number  of 
places  where  the  wear  is  severe,  but  perhaps  in  none 
where  the  conditions  are  as  extreme  as  at  two  switches 
in  the  Midvale  Branch,  a  siding  leading  to  the  Penn- 
sylvania's Nicetown  (Philadelphia)  freight  station, 
and  to  the  plant  of  the  Midvale  Steel  Company. 
These  two  switches  follow  each  other  closely  and  spring 
from  the  inside  of  a  17-deg.  curve.  Approximately 
30  movements  are  made  over  these  switches  every  day. 

"At  each  one  of  the  switches  the  high  side  point, 
applied  new  of  P.  R.  R.  100-lb.  material,  formerly 
lasted  just  two  months,  it  being  a  matter  of  actual 
knowledge  that  12  switch  points  were  consumed  in  the 
two  places  within  a  period  of  one  year.  Besides,  it 
was  the  rule  for  a  derailment  to  herald  the  time  for 
renewal  which  by  reason  of  the  difficulties  of  access 
to  this  location  usually  involved  an  expense  for  the 
wrecking  and  repair  of  equipment  equal  to  the  value 
of  a  new  point.  It  is  three  years  since  the  points  now 
in  track,  which  were  then  close  to  the  limit  of  safe 
w^ear,  were  cut  back  and  the  guard  rails  applied  and 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES 


281 


it  is  quite  probable  the  points  will  still  last  two  years 
longer.  At  this  one  location  60  switch  points  will 
have  been  saved  in  a  period  of  five  years,  which  rep- 
resents at  least  $1,200  in  money.     (Fig.  59.) 

Turnouts  for  narrow-gage  track  on  industrial  rail- 
way. Mr.  Ealph  D.  Brown  of  the  0  'Gara  Coal  Com- 
pany has  given  the  following  useful  notes  which  were 
published  in  Eng.  News  in  1916. 

The  development  of  narrow-gage  railway  track  is 
confined  chiefly  to  limited  layouts  for  industrial  plants 
and  to  mining  operations  where  limited  clearances  ne- 


Fig.  59.     Staggered  Switch  Points  on  a  Curve  of  Heavy  Wear 


cessitate  its  use.  A  coal  mining  company  operating 
many  mines  which  had  been  developed  independently 
was  forced  by  economic  necessity  to  standardize  its 
equipment.  As  some  of  the  mines  were  already  de- 
veloped extensively,  it  was  not  considered  advisable 
to  relay  the  tracks  entirely  to  change  the  gage,  but  it 
was  found  possible  to  use  one  type  of  frog  and  switch 
for  all  turnouts. 

Standard  designs  were  adopted,  and  the  results  of 
computations  were  placed  in  tabular  form  for  the 
use  of  the  construction  gang.  Certain  assumptions 
had  to  be  made,  such  as  the  length  of  the  wing  rails 
of  the  frog  and  the  heel  distance  of  the  switch,  but 
they  were  all  within  the  limits  of  accepted  practice  and 


282 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


can  be  applied  to  any  industrial-track  system.  The 
designs  of  the  frog  and  switch  point,  shown  in  Fig. 
60  were  made  after  considering  both  simplicity  and 
economy  of  construction.  Any  ordinary  blacksmith 
or  ironworker  will  make  these  parts  without  difficulty. 
The  cost  of  making  a  No.  5  frog  and  two  6-ft.  switch 
points  at  a  well-equipped  mine  shop  was  as  follows: 


Frog  ' 

End  Deva+\on 


.-Phmed  ofFU- 

r;<---H-— ->i 


a 


k- 


— F-    ->J 

Side     Eleva+ion 


Switch 

Fig.  60 

Material,  $6.37 ;  labor  of  blacksmith  and  machinist, 
$6.58;  total,  $12.95. 

A  cast-steel  frog  supplied  by  manufacturers  at  a 
cost  of  about  $6.50  is  inherently  more  rigid  than  the 
riveted  frog,  but  unless  unusual  precaution  is  taken  it 
is  difficult  to  fasten  it  securely  to  the  ties.  In  order 
to  stiffen  the  riveted  structure,  cast-iron  fillers  may 
be  added  which  also  support  the  flanges  of  the  wheels 
in  passing  over  the  throat  of  the  frog,  thus  relieving 
the  jar  to  the  rolling  stock. 


FROaS  AND  SWITCHES  2,83 

In  designing  various  parts  of  the  turnouts  it  was 
kept  in  mind  that  all  such  turnouts  may  be  of  only 
temporary  usefulness  in  one  particular  location,  and 
that  the  constituent  parts  may  be  used  many  times  be- 
fore being  cast  aside  as  useless.  The  standard  frog 
is  somewhat  shorter  than  one  designed  to  the  speci- 
fications of  the  American  Railway  Engineering  As- 
sociation. 

The  cost  of  laying  and  ballasting  a  No.  5  turnout 
complete,  as  shown  in  Fig.  61,  was  as  follows : 

One  30  lb.  No.  5  frog  and  two  6  ft.  points    $12.95 

40  ties,  5x6  in.,  @  20e    8.00 

Spikes,  bolts,  tie  plates,  etc 75 

1  low  switch  stand  and  rods   2.25 

2  headblocks,   5x6   in.— 8   ft.   long    1.00 

*otal    material     $24.95 

Laying,   16  hr.  @   BSVgC 5.68 

Ballasting  and  surfacing,  8  hr.  @  35^40 2.84 

Total  labor    $8.52 

Total  cost  of  material  and  labor    $33.47 

The  dimensions  of  the  standard  frogs,  switches  and 
turnouts  are  given  at  the  end  of  Chapter  XXIII.  The 
formulas  used  for  the  turnouts  are  as  follows : 

^;      -,  ,       ^,    ^r         Gr  —  B  sin  X  —  F  sin  Y 
Chord  length  11^==    : — -, — ,„   ,   „. 

sm  1/2   (X  +  Y) 

T-.    , .        _    (    G  —  B  sin  X  —  F  sin  Y     '     ,  ^, 

Kadms   K=  — == VoG 

cos   Y cos  X. 

Lead  S=  (R+  i/>G)   (sin  X  — sin  Y) 

+  B  cos  X  -f  F  +  O 

in  which 

X  =  Frog:  angle ; 
Y  =  Angle  of  point  rail; 
B  =  Length  of  wing  rail ; 
F  =  Length  of  switch  rail ; 


284 


THE  TPuACKJVIANS  HELPER 


0  =  Distance  between  actual  and  theoretical  frog 

point,  taken  as  2  in. ; 
G  =  Gage  of  track ; 
R  =  Radius  of  turnout. 

The  dimension  of  0  was  taken  as  2  in.  and  the  heel 
distance  of  switch  points  as  4l^  in. 

The  spacing  of  the  ties  depends  on  the  size  of  the 
tie  and  the  style  of  the  turnouts.  If  the  regular  set 
of  switch  ties  is  used  as  in  standard-gage  trackwork, 
5  X  6-in.  ties  spaced  18  in.  c.  to  c.  will  give  good  re- 
sults for  track  laid  with  rails  weighing  up  to  40  lb. 
per  yd.     If  the  turnout  is  laid  with  ties  of  even  length 

^-3 -__ 

nn  n  n   n   n   n   n 


Jm]_n  n  n  n 


n"rr^ni  n 


Fig.  61 


staggered  in,  as  shown  in  Fig.  61,  a  spacing  of  16  to  18 
in.  centers  for  each  branch  has  proved  satisfactory. 
This  style  of  construction  is  specially  well  adapted  to 
underground  turnouts,  where  headroom  is  limited  and 
flat  ties  3  by  5  in.  or  3  by  6  in.  are  used. 

Too  often  the  trackwork  for  mines  and  industrial 
works  is  poorly  executed,  due  to  lack  of  experience 
of  the  tracklayers  and  construction  foremen.  The  es- 
sential requirements  do  not  differ  from  those  of  the 
standard  gage,  and  true  alignment  and  surface  may 
be  obtained  by  intelligent  supervision. 


FKOGS  AND  SWITCHES  285 

Crossing  of  narrow  and  standard  gage  track.   Mr. 

T.  C.  Herbert  of  the  P.  C.  C.  &  St.  Louis  Ry.,  in  con- 
nection with  the  second  track  and  grade  reduction 
work  on  that  road  between  Alton,  Ohio,  and  Glade 
Run,  as  described  in  the  Ry.  Age  Gaz.,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing very  interesting  arrangement  (Fig.  62)  : 

This  crossing  was  subjected  to  considerable  use  by 
both  standard  and  narrow  gage  equipment,  but  there 
was  not  time  nor  justification  for  the  installation  of 
a  special  crossing  frog,  neither  were  there  any  mov- 
able or  double-point  frogs  available.  So  it  was  de- 
cided to  construct  a  crossing  out  of  standard  frogs  and 
switches  which  were  on  hand.  The  crossing,  as  shown 
by  the  illustration,  consisted  of  two  No.  8  frogs  and 


Fig.  02.     Details  of  Crossing  of   Standard  Gage  and  Narrow 
Gage  Track  Using  Only  Standard  Frogs  and  Switches 

four  switch  points  operated  separately  with  a  switch- 
stand  for  each  point.  The  switch  targets  showed 
white  when  set  for  the  normal  position  in  line  for 
side  track  movements. 

A  crossing  watchman,  who  also  acted  as  a  switch 
tender,  was  k^pt  on  duty  during  the  working  hours  of 
the  contractor,  and  at  night  the  crossing  was  locked 
clear  for  the  side  track.  It  would  be  possible  to  pipe 
connect  such  a  crossing  with  the  main  track  switch, 
thus  eliminating  the  necessity  for  a  watchman,  and 
this  would  perhaps  be  advisable  if  traffic  over  the 
crossing  were  very  light.  In  an  emergency  such  a 
crossing  could  be  used  on  main  track  by  pipe-connect- 
ing the  crossing  switch  points  with  the  signals. 

The   crossing,   as   constructed,  was  installed  by   a 


286  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

gang'  of  25  men  in  seven  hours,  and  as  there  was  no 
charge  for  material  the  entire  cost  amounted  to  only 
$35. 

Frogs  in  a  ladder  track.  Inexperienced  foremen 
sometimes  find  it  difficult  to  locate  the  frogs  in  a  lad- 
der track  in  such  a  manner  as  to  avoid  leaving  kinks 
either  in  the  ladder  track  or  in  the  tracks  which  run 
parallel  to  the  main  track.  The  places  for  the  points 
of  frogs  can  readily  be  located  in  the  following  man- 
ner : — 

Rule:  Stretch  a  string  along  the  gage  line  of  the 
ladder  track  rail  4  ft.  8V2  in.  from  the  gage  line  of  the 
frog  in  the  main  track,  measured  on  the  side  towards 


I.    At  least  75  R.     J 


Fig.  63,     Frogs  in  a  Ladder  Track 

the  proposed  side  tracks — (A  B,  fig.  63).  Then  set 
two  stakes  CD,  CD,  etc.,  in  the  gage  line  of  the  rail 
nearest  main  track  for  each  of  the  parallel  side  tracks. 
These  stakes  should  contain  tacks  accurately  set  and 
at  least  75  ft.  apart.  Of  each  pair  of  tacks  C  D,  the 
one  nearest  the  ladder  track,  C,  should  be  not  more 
than  25  ft.  from  where  you  think  the  frog  is  to  be. 
The  desired  locations  of  the  theoretical  points  of  frogs 
for  the  ladder  track  are  at  the  intersections  of  the 
string  A  B  and  the  lines  given  by  strings  stretched 
over  the  tacks  at  C  D-C  D,  etc. 

The  above  rule  will  work  well  where  the  two  tracks 
diverge  at  an  angle  corresponding  to  the  frog  angle, 


FROGS  AND  SWITCHES 


287 


but  where  this  angle  of  divergence  is  different  from 
the  frog  angle  in  the  main  track,  or  when  the  tracks 
running  from  the  ladder  track  are  not  parallel  to 
the  main  track,  these  will  meet  the  ladder  track  at 
a  special  angle  and  will  leave  the  ladder  track  on  a 
curve,  or  else  will  require  a  frog  of  special  number, 
which  can  be  ascertained  by  the  following  method: 

To  ascertain  the  number  of  frog  needed.  The  lines 
in  the  diagram.  Fig.  64,  represent  the  rails  of  two 
tracks.  Measure  across  between  the  track  rails  at  the 
points  marked  A  and  B,  each  of  which  is  at  an  equal 
distance  from  C,  where  the  rails  cross,  then  measure 
the  distance,  C  B.     Now  divide  the  distance,  C  B,  by 


Fig.  64.     Diagiam   for   Determining   Frog  No.     , 


the  distance,  A  B,  and  the  result  will  be  the  number 
of  the  frog  required.  Suppose  the  distance,  A  B,  is 
twelve  inches,  and  the  distance,  C  B,  nine  feet;  it 
would  require  a  one  to  nine  frog,  or  as  it  is  generally 
called,  a  number  nine  frog.  The  distance,  A  B,  may 
be  measured  where  the  rails  or  lines  are  only  six  or 
eight  inches  apart,  but  the  result  will  always  be  the 
same  in  proportion  to  the  distance  from  C  to  B. 
Where  tracks  are  to  run  parallel  with  each  other,  it 
is  best  to  gage  the  distance  they  are  to  be  apart  by 
measuring  from  the  nearest  rail  of  a  permanent  track 
adjoining,  if  in  good  line,  or  from  the  center  of  the 
main  track  in  yards. 


288  THE  TRACIOIAN'S  HELPER 

In  ladder  tracks  the  distance  between  frog  points, 
where  they  are  all  of  the  same  number,  is  approxi- 
mately equal  to  the  distance  between  track  centers 
multiplied  by  the  frog  number. 


XIX 

USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS 

Tidy  tool  houses.  Most  railways  furnish  tool 
houses  with  ample  room  for  a  hand  car  and  all  the 
tools  necessary  for  a  section  gang,  and  with  a  little 
pains  on  our  part  we  can  arrange  them  so  that  each 
tool  may  have  its  own  place,  and  be  kept  there  when 
not  in  use.  By  taking  a  look  at  a  foreman's  tool 
house  a  fair  idea  of  his  ability  may  be  gained.  If  he 
has  a  tidy  and  well  arranged  tool  house,  with  the  hand 
car  and  tools  all  in  good  working  order,  you  can  rest 
assured  that  there  is  some  well-kept  track  not  far 
away. 

Foremen  are  expected  to  send  their  tools  to  the 
shops  to  be  repaired,  or  to  be  replaced  by  new  ones 
whenever  necessary,  so  there  is  seldom  any  excuse  for 
having  tools  on  hand  which  are  not  in  working  order. 

There  is  probably  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  just 
how  each  tool  should  be  used,  but  there  is  no  room 
for  argument  on  the  proposition  that  there  should  be 
an  individual  system  of  use  and  care  for  track  tools, 
and  that  the  best  should  be  given. 

The  Axe.  The  first  thing  needed  for  it  is  a 
handle,  which  should  be  snugly  fitted,  an(J  firmly 
wedged  in.  Next,  it  should  be  ground  sharp,  and  kept 
in  that  condition ;  it  should  not  be  used  for  anything 
but  chopping  or  splitting. 

Adze.     It  takes  some  practice  to  learn  to  use  an 

adze  properly,  and  leave  the  ties  smoothly  adzed.     In 

adzing  down  old  ties,  cut  deep  enough  so  that  the 

289 


290  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

edge  of  the  adze  will  go  beneath  the  flange  of  rail  and 
thus  avoid  dulling  the  adze.  When  adzing  ties  on 
curves,  great  care  should  be  exercised  to  adze  them 
uniformly  and  to  a  proper  depth,  always  keeping  a 
lookout  for  stub  spikes,  or  anything  that  may  dull 
the  tool  unnecessarily.  The  adze  should  not  be  used 
as  a  hammer,  nor  for  anything  but  adzing.  A  handle 
is  very  easily  adjusted  to  this  tool,  but  is  easily  broken 
if  not  handled  properly. 

Hand  cars.  Oil  boxes  should  be  frequently  re- 
packed, as  the  packing  soon  becomes  filled  with  sand. 
Keep  all  boxings  fitted  snug;  when  they  become  worn, 
file  or  grind  them  down.  Keep  all  keys  tight,  as  well 
as  all  bolts  and  nuts.  Do  not  let  cogs  mesh  deep 
enough  to  grind.  See  that  the  driving  arm  is  not  too 
short  or  too  long  so  as  to  throw  one  end  of  the  walking 
beam  too  high  and  the  other  too  low.  Drop  a  little 
oil  on  all  the  bearings  often.  Do  not  use  much  at  a 
time,  but  apply  frequenth^  Care  should  be  exercised 
when  putting  the  car  on  and  off  the  track.  A  little 
pains  should  be  taken  to  instruct  men  in  pumping  a 
car  so  that  they  pump  steadily  and  together,  and  in 
going  up  grade  or  against  the  wind  to  pump  on  tlie 
up  stroke  as  well  as  on  the  down.  Keep  the  car  going 
at  a  brisk  rate,  for  it  is  easier  to  keep  it  going  in  that 
way  than  it  is  to  pump  when  the  speed  gets  low. 

Hand  cars  are  in  universal  use,  and  a  car  which 
will  give  good  service  on  an  American  road  will  be 
equally  desirable  and  useful  on  any  railroad.  To  be 
desirable  a  hand  car  should  be  light,  speed}^,  strong, 
durable,  and  of  simple  construction,  so  that  the  sec- 
tion men  can  perform  minor  repairs  without  having 
to  send  it  to  the  shop.  With  these  qualities  it  will 
pay  for  itself  in  a  year  in  time  saved  and  useful  work 
performed. 

Several  manufacturers  make  a  specialty  of  building 
improved  hand  cars,  any  of  which  are  preferable  to 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS 


291 


the  ''home  made"  ones  which  come  from  the  railway 
shop. 

Buda  No.  1  Standard  Hand  Car.  The  following- 
standard  specifications  apply  to  the  car  illustrated  in 
Fig.  65 : 

Gage  :     Standard  4'  81/2". 


Fig.  65.     Hand   Car 


Wheels:     20"  diameter,  Buda  pressed  steel. 

Axles:  II/2"  diameter,  open  hearth  steel.  Taper 
wheel  fit. 

Weight:     525  pounds. 

Gears :  Regularly  equipped  with  machine-cut 
helical  gears.  Can  equip  with  cut  spur  gears,  if  de- 
sired. 


292 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


Platform:     6  feet  long  by  4  feet,  5  inches  wide. 

Remarks :  For  roads  having  block  signals  with 
track  circuit,  this  car  can  be  insulated. 

The  modern  type  of  section  car  is  motor  driven  and 
effects  very  considerable  economy,  due  to  saving  the 
time  and  strength  of  the  men. 

Cost  of  operating  motor  cars.  Mr.  J.  L.  Walsh 
of  the  I\I.  K.  &  T.  Railway  says  in  Ry.  Age  Gaz.  that 
in  1913  and  1914  this  organization  was  furnished  10 


Fig.  66.     Gasoline    ]\Iotor    Section    Car 

Fairbanks-]\lorse  No.  32  motor  cars  at  a  total  cost  of 
$2,444.  These  cars  in  13  months  made  80,465  miles, 
consuming  2,701  gallons  of  gasoline  at  a  cost  of 
$256.63,  with  oil  and  other  supplies  costing  $75.61. 
The  mileage  was  29.9  per  gallon  of  gasoline. 

Upon  putting  the  cars  in  service  on  the  Kansas  City 
division  the  number  of  sections  was  reduced  from  16 
to  12  of  eight  miles  each.  The  total  cost  of  track 
labor  for  13  months  decreased  $3,326.80,  which  he  at- 
tributes to  the  use  of  these  cars. 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS  293 

In  proportioning  the  money  saved  he  considers  that 
the  largest  saving  was  going  to  and  from  work,  since 
under  ordinary  conditions  the  cars  will  make  a  speed 
of  20  miles  per  hour,  enabling  the  men  to  start  to 
work  fresh  from  30  to  45  minutes  earlier  than  they 
would  on  the  hand  car,  and  allowing  them  to  work  a 
correspondingly  larger  number  of  hours  without 
greater  fatigue.  The  total  saving  thus  effected  at  13,- 
134  man  hours  amounted  to  $1,970.10,  which  will  pay 
for  the  cars  in  15  months. 

Another  advantage  of  the  cars  is  that  the  foreman 
can  leave  most  of  his  gang  on  a  piece  of  work  and  go 
over  his  section  with  one  man,  but  in  doing  this  he 
ought  to  be  very  sure  that  he  can  get  the  car  oft"  the 
track  with  one  man  helping  fast  enough  to  avoid  get- 
tiiig  hit  by  a  train. 

^e  cars  accommodate  10  men  together  with  track 
tools  and  can  handle  the  push  car  with  from  25  to 
40  ties  without  much  trouble ;  moreover  with  the 
push  car  they  can  handle  20  or  25  men  in  extra  gang 
work.  Mr.  Walsh  also  used  these  cars  in  bridge 
work.  He  had  for  this  purpose  a  Buda  motor  car 
No.  19  equipped  with  a  free-running  engine,  and  he 
found  that  it  was  possible  to  eliminate  four  moves 
of  the  bridge  outfit  per  month,  the  average  move  be- 
ing about  25  miles. 

Hand  cars  and  speeders.  Mr.  C.  E.  Foreman  has 
given  the  following*  valuable  suggestions  in  Railway 
Engineering  ancl  Maintenance  of  Way. 

''Most  hand  cars  are  manufactured  with  a  view  to 
light  running,  and  consequently  the  majority  of  new 
cars  when  received  are  squared  up  and  true.  How- 
ever, if  not,  they  should  be  trued  up  by  loosening  the 
bolts  which  fasten  the  boxes  in  which  the  axle  re- 
volves, and  moving  one  end  of  the  axle  forward  or 
back  to  a  position  where  there  will  be  no  tendency 
for  the  flange  of  any  of  the  wheels  to  bind  against 


294 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


the  rail  when  the  car  is  moved  forward  on  straight 
track. 

"Flanges  binding  against  the  rail  cause  more  hard 
bumping  than  any  other  single  defect.  When  axles 
are  in  proper  condition  tighten  the  bolts  firmly  and 
see  that  they  are  kept  tight.  Hand  cars  should  be 
tried  out  frequently  to  see  if  they  are  'true,'  as  set- 
ting cars  off  and  on  the  track,  pushing  them  loaded 


yr  Wrong  Position 
f  for  Axle 


I 


FIdnge 
Binaing 


"^  Correct  Position 
for  Axle 


Flange 
Binding  ' 


■Correct  Pbs/ffon 
for  h^/?ee/ 


Flange  . 
Binaing 


Fig.  67. 


WroncJ  Fbsition 
for  Wtieel 


Correct    and    Incorrect    Positions    of    Axle 


with  tools  over  highway  crossings,  rough  handling, 
etc.,  is  very  liable  to  loosen  and  move  the  boxes  from 
their  proper  positions. 

"Binding  may  also  be  caused  by  a  wheel  not  run- 
ning parallel  to  the  track,  although  the  axle  may  be 
in  proper  position.  (See  Fig.  67.)  This,  in  a  new 
car,  is  clearly  the  fault  of  the  manufacturer  and 
should  be  remedied  in  a  shop.     Binding  occasionally 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS  295 

is  caused  by  a  crooked  wheel  or  'a  wheel  which  has 
the  snakes.'  If  the  wheel  cannot  be  straightened  and 
trued  up  a  new  wheel  should  be  obtained. 

''Most  handcars  have  their  'Front'  and  'Rear'  ends 
marked,  and  if  the  wheels  and  axles  are  properly  trued 
up  the  car  will  always  run  lighter  when  placed  on 
the  track  with  the  'Front'  end  in  the  direction  of 
travel.  This  is  especially  true  when  running  around 
curves.  All  wheels  except  the  'loose  wheel'  should 
be  keyed  tightly  to  the  axle  and  not  allowed  to  work 
loose  or  get  out  of  position  so  that  they  bind.  The 
loose  wheel  should  be  painted  a  conspicuous  color  or 
otherwise  marked  so  as  to  be  readily  located,  and  then 
the  car  can  be  turned  by  lifting  the  end  opposite  that 
which  the  loose  wheel  is  on.  Proper  lubrication  of 
the* loose  wheel  makes  pumping  easier  around  curves 
on  account  of  the  unequal  distance  traveled  by  the 
inner  and  outer  wheel. 

"Next  in  importance  to  binding  comes  grinding. 
Grinding  in  the  bearings  may  be  due  to  lack  of  oil, 
but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  more  frequently  it  is  due 
to  dirt  and  sand  in  the  bearings.  Hand  cars  should 
never  be  used  to  transport  sand  and  gravel,  but  in 
case  it  has  to  be  done  the  bearings  and  oil  holes  should 
be  protected  from  all  dirt  and  sand. 

"Exterior  surfaces  around  bearings  and  oil  holes 
should  be  kept  clean  of  oil  and  grease  and  the  conse- 
quent accumulation  of  dirt.  Never  oil  the  cogs  of  the 
gear  wheels  in  either  a  speeder  or  hand  car.  While 
good  clean  oil  wall  reduce  friction  between  the  cogs, 
the  oil  will  also  cause  an  accumulation  of  dirt,  sand 
and  cinders,  and  before  long  the  teeth  will  be  choked 
with  a  hard,  gritty  mass  that  will  cause  the  car  to 
drag,  even  down  grade. 

' '  Bolts  and  screws  holding  the  frame  together  should 
be  kept  reasonably  tight,  but  should  never  be  turned 
excessively  tight,  especially  where  the  heads  or  nuts 


296  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

and  washers  sink  into  the  wood.  Unless  the  nuts  on 
the  underside  of  the  platform  are  tightened  occasion- 
ally, especially  those  with  which  oil  comes  in  contact, 
they  will  jar  loose  and  the  lower  half  of  a  bearing  box 
may  drop  off  unnoticed. 

"The  care  and  operation  of  speeders  (three-wheel 
velocipede  cars)  requires  more  attention  than  of  heav- 
ier four-wheel  handcars.  Binding  here  is  more  fre- 
quent and,  since  usually  only  one  or  two  men  are 
pumping,  more  noticeable.  Fig.  67  represents  the 
conditions  ordinarily  found.  The  front  wheel  on  the 
load-bearing  side  (right  side)  should  be  very  slightly 
turned  toward  the  rail,  as  shown,  exaggerated,  in  the 
lower  view  of  Fig.  67,  but  should  not  bind  enough  to 
make  pumping  difficult.  This  position  of  the  wheel  is 
necessary  in  order  to  make  certain  of  the  car  keeping 
the  rails  when  going  around  curves  to  the  right,  espe- 
cially if  the  curvature  is  sharp.  If  the  speeder  is  to 
be  used  only  on  tracks  having  very  light  curves  the 
wheel  can  be  advantageously  placed  parallel  with  the 
rail  and  it  will  be  found  that  the  car  will  keep  the 
rails  unless  there  are  other  faults,  such  as  sprained  or 
badly  worn  frame  or  parts,  etc. 

' '  Speeders,  which  are  necessarily  built  light,  should 
be  handled  with  more  care  than  lieavv  handcars,  as 

«.  7 

shocks  and  derailments  are  liable  to  cause  sprains  or 
breaks.  While  these  damages  may  be  repaired,  it  is 
usuallv  found  that  the  car  does  not  run  as  easilv  as  be- 
fore,  on  account  of  failure  to  restore  exact  former  con- 
ditions. Rough  usage  in  loading  and  unloading 
speeders  for  shipment  is  frequently  the  cause  of  a  car 
running  heavy.  Personal  attention  to  this  feature, 
instead  of  leaving  it  to  the  baggageman  or  freight 
handlers,  will  lessen  the  labor  of  pumping. 

"A  speeder  which  is  used  regularly  should  be 
cleaned  periodically.  The  ball  bearings  and  retainers 
should  be  removed  and  thoroughly  cleaned  with  kero- 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS 


297 


sene.  Examine  the  bearings  for  rough  spots  and  if 
found  replace  with  new  parts.  When  replacing,  pack 
the  ball  bearings  in  a  generous  amount  of  clean  vase- 
line. 

''Under  heavy  loads  or  usage  a  grinding  or  ^screech- 
ing'  will  sometimes  develop  in  the  wheel  bearings,  al- 
though they  may  be  well  oiled.     This  denotes  a  worn 


Fig.  68.     Single    Speeder 


retaining  cup  or  a  brol^en  ball  bearing.  These  should 
be  replaced  at  once,  else  the  damage  will  spread  to 
all  the  ball  bearings,  the  cups  and  the  axle,  besides  in- 
creasing the  labor  necessary  to  propel  the  car. 

"Attention  to  the  details  mentioned,  by  the  man  who 
has  considerable  pumping  to  do,  will  result  in  the  sav- 
ing of  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  hard  labor.     The 


298 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


writer  has  found  this  to  be  true  by  trying  it  out.  In 
one  season  from  :\Iarch  to  September,  inclusive,  the 
writer  has,  with  a  partner,  covered  over  2,500  miles 
on  a  No.  3  velocipede  car.  By  keeping  the  car  in 
proper  condition  a  mileage  of  56  miles  was  made  in 
one  day,  and  65  miles  the  following  day;  these  dis- 
tances being  over  ordinary  track  and  grades,  including 
the  climbing  of  a  long  divide;  one  day  facing  a  'head- 
wind' and  the  following  day  pumping  with  the  wind. 


Fig.  69.     Gasoline  Speeder.     Weight  320  lbs. 


( ( 


The  'head-wind'  always  has  been  and  alwavs  will 
be  the  pumper 's  worst  enemy.  We  cannot  control  it ; 
but  we  can  control  the  condition  in  which  we  keep 
the  hand  cars  and  speeders  which  we  pump  everv 
day. ' ' 

Speeders  are  made  with  three  or  four  wheels,  ar- 
ranged to  be  propelled  by  hand  as  well  as  driven  by 
mechanical  motors.  This  latter  mode  of  operation  has 
gained  in  favor  of  late  years  and  is  particularly  ad- 
vantageous for  roadmasters  who  have  to  cover  long 
distances,  or  for  inspection  trips  where  considerable 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS  299 

speed  is  required,  and  where  the  working  of  the  levers 
of  a  hand  car  would  interfere  with  the  view  of  the 
inspectors. 

Claw  bars.  Nothing  will  cause  more  annoyance 
than  a  poor  claw  bar,  one  on  which  claws  are  too  far 
apart  at  toe  or  close  together,  neck  not  properly  bent, 
heel  out  of  proportion  to  claws,  and  so  on.  Most  of 
these  things  can  be  remedied  at  shops.  When  they  are 
sent  in  to  be  remedied  a  letter  and  a  sketch  should  be 
sent  along  if  possible,  showing  what  changes  should  be 
made.  A  good  many  of  the  claw  bars  now  in  use 
would  be  more  valuable  to  the  company  in  the  scrap 
pile  than  anywhere  else. 

Cross  cut  saws.  Strict  attention  should  be  paid  to 
filing  and  setting  saws.  They  should  be  carried  on  the 
car  an'H  kept  in  tool  house  in  such  position  that  the 
teeth  will  not  come  in  contact  with  other  metal  tools. 
Men  should  stand  squarely  opposite  each  other  when 
sawing,  each  dragging  the  saw  toward  him,  but  never 
pushing  the  saw.  A  saw  in  good  running  order  does 
not  need  any  crowding. 

Cold  chisels.  A  full  complement  of  these  should  al- 
ways be  kept  on  hand.  It  is  the  custom  when  using  a 
chisel  to  stick  any  kind  of  a  hard  wood  piece  into  it  for 
a  handle,  but  it  pays  to  fit  good  handles  to  chisels,  as 
well  as  other  tools,  so  that  you  will  not  have  to  stop 
to  insert  handles  while  cutting  a  rail.  A  great  many 
chisels  are  spo:j:led  by  not  being  properly  held.  If  a 
chisel  has  good  temper  and  is  not  broken  too  badly  it 
is  better  to  grind  it  down  than  to  send  it  to  the  shop ; 
but  if  it  cannot  be  ground  down  profitably,  it  should 
be  sent  to  the  shop  at  once,  not  kept  around  the  tool 
house. 

Track  gage.  The  gage  should  be  made  to  serve  a 
better  purpose  than  merely  to  mark  the  standard  dis- 
tance between  the  rails.  A  wooden  gage  may  do  well 
when  ends  are  well  bound  with  iron,  but  a  metal  gage  is 


300  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

better.  There  should  be  a  fork  on  one  end  to  pre- 
vent the  gage  from  falling  on  its  side  when  spiking, 
and  also  to  square  it  across  the  track.  This  end  should 
be  fastened  solid,  either  welded  or  screwed  and  riveted 
to  the  end  of  a  wrought  iron  pipe.  On  the  other  end 
of  this  pipe,  the  single  end  of  the  gage,  the  lug  should 
be  adjustable;  it  should  be  screwed  up  tight  on  the 
pipe  when  standard  gage  is  desired,  and  lengthened 
out  as  necessary  when  gage  is  widened  on  curves.  A 
small  thumb  screw  through  the  adjustable  lug,  with  a 
narrow  seat  planed  on  the  pipe  will  hold  the  lug  in 
place,  and  this  screw  seat  can  also  hold  oil  to  keep 
thread  from  rusting  and  turning  hard.  The  lugs 
should  be  of  the  same  size  on  both  ends  1%  inches 
wide  and  1%  inches  deep.  This  would  be  satisfactory 
under  all  circumstances  and  is  simple ;  strong  with  no 
delicate  parts- to  break;  will  adjust  to  widen  gage  on 
curves;  the  width  of  the  lugs  is  standard  guard  rail 
distance ;  the  depth  of  the  lugs  will  show  if  blocks  in 
switches  are  clear  of  wheel  flanges,  allowing  one- 
fourth  inch  extra  as  flanges  on  wheels  are  generally 
1%  inches  deep ;  the  wide  lugs  on  double  end  of  gage 
will  fit  snugly  between  wing  rail  and  point  of  frog 
and  stay  there,  while  the  single  end  will  show  where 
to  set  the  guard  rail  regardless  of  how  wide  the  track 
is.  This  gage  will  pay  for  itself  in  the  saving  of  wear 
of  frog  points  alone,  besides  other  services  that  it  can 
render  while  gaging  track  on  curves. 

Lining  bars.  Some  of  the  bars  in  use  are  of  iron 
and  are  too  heavy.  A  steel  bar  weighing  about  twenty 
pounds,  with  chisel  point  on  square  or  bottom  end  of 
bar,  and  sharp  pointed  at  small  end,  is  about  right. 
Lining  track  is  probably  one  of  the  most  difficult 
things  a  foreman  has  to  do.  Where  track  has  just 
been  raised,  take  only  enough  men  and  bars  to  move 
track  easily.  Don't  let  men  stick  the  bars  in  the 
ground  at  too  great  an  angle ;  if  they  do  they  will  raise 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS  301 

the  track  when  they  throw  it  over,  and  if  the  ballast  is 
sandy  some  of  it  will  run  under  the  ties  and  spoil  the 
surface.  When  lining  track  where  it  is  hard  to  move, 
bars  should  be  struck  firmly  in  the  ground  before  heav- 
ing on  them,  for  if  one  bar  slips  all  the  other  men  have 
to  wait  while  that  one  is  being  replaced.  Men  must 
always  pull  together,  and  always  be  ready  when  the 
word  is  given ;  the  foreman  should  keep  as  far  back  as 
he  can,  to  see  well  and  avoid  putting  swings  in  the 
track.  Some  of  the  little  defects  can  be  taken  out  at 
short  range. 

Lanterns  should  always  be  kept  in  perfect  order, 
for  you  never  know  at  what  moment  you  will  need 
them,  and  you  are  always  in  a  hurry  when  you  do. 
The  lajaterns  usually  furnished  are  good  to  use  for 
signals,  but  give  little  light  to  work  by.  A  couple  of 
engineer's  torches  will  give  more  light  than  a  dozen 
lanterns.  Every  trackman  should  know  all  lamp  sig- 
nals thoroughly,  and  when  placing  danger  or  slow 
signals  care  should  be  taken  to  set  them  in  plain  view 
of  an  approaching  train.  Be  sure  to  have  them  out 
the  full  distance  required  by  the  book  of  rules.  If  you 
err  at  all,  be  on  the  safe  side.  It  is  a  short  job  to 
place  signals,  and  serious  accidents  will  be  prevented 
often  if  they  are  put  out  properly.  If  you  have  any 
doubt  about  the  stability  of  a  piece  of  track,  don 't  hesi- 
tate to  use  your  signals.  Be  on  the  safe  side. 
Lanterns,  after  being  used,  should  have  the  oil  taken 
out  and  put  back  in  the  oil  can.  Clean  the  globes,  trim 
the  wicks  and  set  them  in  a  safe  place.  If  lanterns  re- 
main a  long  time  without  use  the  wicks  should  be 
changed  or  they  will  not  burn  well.  When  putting 
out  lanterns  as  danger  or  slow  signals,  be  sure  that 
they  are  in  good  trim  with  plenty  of  oil.  Signal  oil 
gets  too  thick  if  it  stands  very  long  in  small  cans. 
When  it  does  not  burn  well  add  kerosene  to  it.  A 
few  extra  globes  should  always  be  kept  on  hand. 


302  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Spike  mauls.  About  eight  pounds  is  the  right 
weight.  Select  the  straightest  handle  for  this,  fit  it 
snug  and  wedge  it  tight.  If  the  eye  is  not  straight  in 
the  hammer,  which  is  often  the  case,  file  it  out  as 
nearly  straight  as  possible  w4th  a  rat-tail  file.  If  face 
of  hammer  gets  too  rounded,  file  or  grind  it  down.  To 
drive  a  spike  properly,  stand  at  side  of  rail  and  start 
the  spike  perpendicular  to  the  tie;  never  allow  it  to 
slant  under  the  rail.  A  spike  may  be  leaned  a  little 
from  you  when  started,  but  the  second  blow  should 
straighten  it  up.  Stand  with  heels  close  together,  use 
full  length  of  handle,  and  give  long,  swinging  strokes 
when  spiking. 

A  shovel  is  the  tool  the  trackman  uses  most  and  the 
incorrect  use  of  it  causes  him  to  waste  more  time  than 
in  almost  any  other  way.  Therefore  it  is  necessary 
for  him  to  know  some  of  the  principles  governing  its 
work,  and  he  should  be  continually  on  the  alert  to 
apply  those  principles  in  his  daily  practice.  Most  men 
think  that  shoveling  is  a  perfectly  easy,  perfectly  nat- 
ural, and  perfectly  simple  thing  to  do,  and  so  it  is 
when  it  is  done  without  regard  to  the  economy  of  the 
work  or  its  quality;  but  when  both  these  things  are 
considered,  shoveling  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  of 
processes  to  perform  properly.  Hence,  a  brief  refer- 
ence to  some  of  the  principles  involved  in  it  will  not  be 
amiss  in  this  book. 

In  order  to  accomplish  the  most  work  in  a  day,  a 
man  must  perform  the  smallest  amount  of  unnecessary 
muscular  effort,  to  do  w^hich  each  motion  should  have 
the  right  direction  with  only  the  necessary  amount  of 
force.  Now,  in  shoveling,  two  or  three  principal  oper- 
ations are  performed.  In  the  first  place,  the  shovel 
must  be  pushed  into  the  material  or  under  the  ma- 
terial to  be  lifted.  Secondly,  the  man  must  raise  the 
shovel  and  with  it  his  own  body,  get  ready  to  throw, 
pr  swing  the  shovel  back,  and  next  he  must  throw,  for- 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS  303 

ward  or  side-wise,  the  shovel  with  its  load,  and  a  part 
of  his  own  body  also.  Finally,  he  must  stop  the  shovel 
and  allow  the  load  of  the  shovel  to  go  on  its  way  to 
its  intended  place.  These  operations  may  be  listed  as. 
follows : — 

1.  Penetration  4.  Throw. 

2.  Elevation.  5.  Recover. 

3.  Swing-back. 

It  is  clear  that  for  some  of  these  operations,  certain 
kinds  of  shovels  are  particularly  adapted,  and  for 
other  kinds  of  operations  other  kinds  of  shovels  are 
better.  For  instance,  for  penetrating  tough  ground  in 
digging  ditches,  a  square  tamping  shovel  is  one  of  the 
worst  tools  that  can  be  used.  Its  cutting  edge  is  not 
particularly  sharp,  it  is  wide  and  there  is  a  poor  place 
on  it  for  a  man's  foot  to  push  on.  The  average  laborer 
will  accomplish  less  than  half  as  much  work  in  digging 
ditches  with  a  standard  track  shovel  as  he  can  with  a 
round  pointed  shovel  of  proper  size.  It  is  thus  evi- 
dent that  when  the  work  to  be  done  involves  pene- 
trating tough  material,  a  penetrating  shovel  should  be 
used  rather  than  a  tamping  shovel.  It  is  also  clear 
that  for  throwing  dirt,  for  instance,  there  are  large 
shovels  and  small  shovels  to  be  used  for  heavy  ma- 
terials and  light  ones.  The  very  large  shovel  should 
not  be  used  for  heavy  material,  nor  should  the  small 
shovel  be  used  for  light  material.  If  you  give  your 
men  shovels  which  are  designed  for  handling  soft  coal 
and  they  have  to  use  them  to  throw  iron  ore  the  men 
will  either  stop  work  entirely  or  else  in  a  short  time 
they  will  become  so  tired  as  to  very  greatly  reduce 
the  day's  output.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  give  a 
man  a  standard  track  shovel  and  set  him  to  work 
shoveling  sawdust,  his  strokes  will  be  perhaps  a  little 
faster  than  if  he  were  shoveling  dirt,  but  they  will  not 


304  THE  TPw\CKMAN'S  HELPER 

be  enough  faster  to  make  up  for  the  tremendous  de- 
ficiency in  the  weight  of  material  on  the  shovel,  so  that 
in  the  same  amount  of  time  he  will  throw  perhaps  a 
third  as  much  sawdust  as  he  would  if  he  had  a  proper 
shovel  for  the  purpose. 

A  most  important  feature  in  the  economy  of  shovel 
work  is  the  length  of  the  shovel  handle.  If  a  man 
were  to  raise  his  body  up  and  down,  bending  forward 
and  bending  back,  without  doing  any  other  work  at 
all,  at  the  end  of  a  whole  day  of  that  sort  of  thing  he 
would  be  very  tired  without  having  accomplished  any- 
thing. In  working  with  a  short-handled  shovel,  this 
is  to  some  extent  just  what  he  does,  with  a  great  deal 
of  effort.  Whenever  he  lifts  a  shovelful  of  dirt  he 
lifts  several  times  that  weight  in  his  own  body,  and  the 
weight  of  his  own  body  that  he  lifts  is  just  as  tiresome 
to  him  as  the  weight  of  material  on  the  shovel  that  he 
lifts,  plus  the  weight  of  the  shovel  itself.  Now,  with  a 
long-handled  shovel  he  can  stand  up  almost  straight 
and  with  yerj^  little  bending  of  his  back  and  almost  no 
bending  of  his  hips,  he  can  throw  his  shovelful  of  ma- 
terial without  doing  much  of  the  unnecessary  work  of 
lifting  his  body.  A  great  many  men,  especially  track 
laborers,  are  accustomed  to  work  with  short-handled 
shovels  and  do  not  like  to  use  long-handled  ones  when 
thev  are  first  given  them.  But  after  thev  have  been 
trained  to  the  use  of  long-handled  shovels,  especially 
for  deep  trench  work,  shoveling  into  a  wagon,  or  for 
any  purpose  in  which  the  delivery  point  is  above  the 
height  of  the  waist,  they  take  very  kindly  to  the  long- 
handled  shovel,  and  in  a  day's  work  will  accomplish  a 
great  deal  more,  generally  speaking,  than  with  a  short- 
handled  tool.  When  mixing  concrete  by  hand  the  ma- 
terial can  be  lifted  much  more  easily  if  the  shovels  are 
square  pointed  and  are  shoved  along  a  platform,  pre- 
ferably of  sheet  iron  or  boards  laid  lengthwise  of  the 
movement   of   the   shovel.     AYhen   loading   into   cars 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS 


305 


from  a  platform,  whenever  possible  the  men  should 
work  parallel  with  the  planks  of  the  platform;  when 
working  across  them  the  edges  of  the  shovel  stick  at 
the  edges  of  the  plank  and  can  account  for  a  sur- 
prisingly small  output  of  work. 


Long  Handle 
Round  Point  Shovel 


Concave  Dram  Spade 


Post  Spade 


Screening 
Scoop 


^  I  Marl  Gouge 


uare  Point  Shovel 


Ballast    Fork 


Round  Point  Shovel 


Tamping  Bar 

Fig.  70.     Various  Types  of  Shovels 


The  foreman  should  see  to  it  that  several  kinds  of 
shovels  are  kept  in  the  tool  house,  and  he  should  make 
a  practice  of  timing  his  men  by  counting  how  many 


306  THE  TRACKJMAN'S  HELPER 

shovelfuls  they  throw  per  minute.  In  this  way  he  will 
soon  be  able  to  become  an  expert  on  economical  shovel- 
ing. To  accomplish  this  result  it  is  not  necessary  to 
drive  the  men  or  to  try  them  with  the  wrong  sized 
shovel  in  order  to  determine  the  amount  of  work  ac- 
complished. The  proper  selection  of  tools  is  always 
appreciated  by  the  men  and  they  will  always  work 
more  w^illingly,  more  intelligently  and  more  effectively 
with  proper  tools.  For  ordinary  average  shoveling  in 
earth  a  shovel  w^hich  carries  about  20  lb.  of  material 
is  about  right;  for  high  lifts  or  very  long  casts,  one 
size  smaller  than  this  should  be  used. 

Fig.  70  gives  an  idea  of  the  various  types  of  shovels 
most  suitable  for  different  kinds  of  work. 

Tamping  bars  should  be  made  of  seven-eighths  in. 
iron  or  steel,  length  Si/o  ft.,  sharp-pointed  at  upper 
end,  have  a  tamping  face  four  inches  wide,  and  five- 
eighths  inch  thick,  and  weigh  about  14  lbs.,  the  neck 
bent  so  that  the  tamping  face  will  be  in  right  position 
when  bar  is  held  at  an  angle  of  about  45  degrees. 
When  tamping  face  gets  too  thin  send  to  shop  to  be 
refaced.  Always  be  sure  to  remove  enough  dirt  so 
that  the  tie  can  be  well  tamped ;  reach  under  the  rail  so 
that  all  the  space  under  the  tie  will  be  tamped.  Never 
slight  this  work  nor  allow  the  men  to  do  so. 

Track  flags.  Always  have  the  flags  with  you,  and 
always  place  them  at  the  extreme  limit  required  by 
the  book  of  rules  under  which  you  are  working. 

Always  send  a  trusty  man  to  do  the  flagging.  Flags 
when  not  in  use  should  be  encased  in  something  that  is 
water  proof. 

Tape  lines.  It  often  happens  that  a  cloth  tape  line, 
after  being  wet  two  or  three  times,  will  shrink,  and 
be  too  short ;  therefore  measure  them  once  in  a  while 
and  see  if  they  are  accurate.  Of  course  it  is  best  not 
to  get  them  wet,  but  sometimes  it  cannot  be  avoided. 
Steel  tapes  are  not  subject  to  this  difficulty  but  are 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS 


307 


liable  to  rust  and  must  be  kept  oiled.     Have  a  box  to 
keep  the  tape  line  in  when  not  in  your  pocket. 

Track  level.  When  surfacing  track  never  try  to  get 
along  without  the  level,  but  try  it  every  day  it  is  used 
to  see  that  it  is  in  correct  adjustment.  A  good  track 
level  is  one  made  of  wood,  li/^  inches  thick  by  3  inches 
wide,  bound  with  iron  strap  at  one  end,  and  the  other 
end  having  an  iron  or  brass  cap  fitted  over  it  and  an 
iron  standard  5  or  more  inches  long  through  it; 
standard  to  be  one-half  inch  square  and  graduated  to 
one-eighth  inch.  Standard  should  slide  easily  either 
way,  and  have  a  set  screw  to  hold  it  at  any  desired 
place.  The  end  with  the  standard  will,  of  course,  be 
the  heavier,  and  the  handle  should  not  be  in  the  center, 
but  should  be  placed  so  that  the  level  will  balance  when 


Fig.  71.     Track  Level 


picked  up.  The  track  level  should  be  used  continu- 
ally, especially  on  track  which  was  never  ballasted,  or 
which  was  surfaced  hurriedly  without  using  a  level. 
If  you  have  surfaced  a  piece  of  track  to  a  perfect  level, 
then  you  can  sight  the  depressions  in  the  surface  with- 
out using  the  spirit  level  when  going  over  it  a  second 
time  if  the  trapk  has  not  become  rough. 

Section  foreitien  in  charge  of  new  track  should  make 
it  their  business  to  improve  the  line  and  surface  as 
fast  as  possible  with  the  force  allowed  them,  before 
the  track  settles  or  the  ballast  becomes  a  solid  mass. 
"While  the  ties  and  rails  are  new  is  the  time  to  make 
a  good  track. 

Track  wrenches.  Each  section  should  have  as  many 
track  wrenches  as  there  are  men  in  the  gang.  It  takes 
a  little  practice  to  use  a  wrench  quickly  and  handily. 


308 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


The  nuts  should  be  well  tightened  and  then  hit  with 
the  hammer  and  tightened  again.  Where  nutlocks 
are  used  nuts  will  not  need  to  be  as  tight  as  where 
there   are  none.     Wrenches  should  be  made   of   one 


•ity 


Fig.  72.     Typical  Track  Jack 


piece  of  steel,  and  have  four  sides  to  the  jaws,  so  as  to 
fit  square  or  hexagonal  nuts. 

Monkey  wrenches.    One  should  go  with  every  hand- 
car.    Don 't  use  it  for  a  hammer ;  keep  it  in  good  work- 


ing order  to  tighten  nuts. 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TEACK  TOOLS  309 

Drawing  knives  and  hand  axes  are  very  handy  f  or 
putting-  in  new  handles  and  are  often  useful  when 
making'  repairs  around  tool  houses  or  other  buildings. 
They  need  to  be  kept  very  sharp  and  should  have  a 
special  place  in  the  tool  house. 

A  grindstone  is  a  most  necessary  tool  and  should  be 
turned  steadily  and  tools  held  square  to  avoid  wearing 
the  face  of  the  stone  unevenly. 

Track  jacks.  Every  section  foreman  should  have  a 
track  jack  along  with  his  other  track  tools,  and  he 
should  always  carrj^  it  with  him  on  the  hand  car,  and 
have  it  ready  to  use  whenever  it  is  necessary  to  raise 
track.  A  good  track  jack  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
economical  tools  that  can  be  used  on  a  railroad. 

There  are  few  things  that  look  more  ridiculous  than 
three  "or  four  men  making  futile  efforts  to  raise  a  rail 
with  a  long  bar  or  track  lever  and  a  block  of  wood 
which  is  either  too  high  or  too  low.  The  ingenuity  or 
ignorance  of  the  whole  gang  is  displayed  a  score  of 
times  during  the  day,  whenever  the  block  will  not  do 
to  raise  the  track  to  the  proper  height,  and  valuable 
time  is  lost  in  trying  to  find  a  stone,  a  chunk  of  wood 
or  a  spike  to  increase  the  leverage,  and  which  is  seldom 
or  never  thought  of  until  the  moment  it  is  wanted. 
Sometimes  the  spikes  are  pulled  out  of  one  or  two 
ties  in  every  rail  length,  and  the  track  is  raised  from 
the  tops  of  the  ties.  This  method  also  causes  a  con- 
siderable loss  of  time,  pulling  the  spikes  and  respik- 
ing  the  ties,  besides  the  injury  done  the  ties  when  the 
old  spike  holes  are  left  open  to  rot  the  wood.  Raising 
track  with  a  lever  pulls  the  rails  out  of  line  much 
more  than  raising  it  with  a  jack,  and  makes  it  more 
difficult  to  put  back  into  place,  often  loosening  the 
spikes  where  the  ballast  is  heavy,  and  the  track  is  laid 
with  soft  ties. 

In  order  to  avoid  accidents  when  track  is  being 
raised,  the  track  jack  should  be  set  on  the  outside  of 


310 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


the  rail.  In  this  position  the  pilot  of  an  engine,  if  it 
should  strike  the  jack,  will  knock  it  clear  of  the 
rails.  But  there  is  no  necessity  of  using  a  track  jack 
immediately  ahead  of  the  passage  of  trains,  or  when 


Fig.  73.     Pony  Car 


they  are  due  at  that  point,  and  the  men  can  be  em- 
ployed at  other  work  for  the  time.  Track  jacks  placed 
inside  the  rails  which  could  not  be  removed  in  time, 
have  caused  the  derailment  of  numerous  trains.     Al- 


USE  AND  CARE  OP  TRACK  TOOLS 


311 


ways  properly  protect  yourself  with  flags  when  using  a 
jack 

Rail  benders  and  jim  crow.  Almost  every  section 
has  more  or  less  kinky  rails,  and  with  these  tools  the 
joints  can  be  straightened  where  they  are  crowded  out 
too  much.     First,  pull  the  spikes  and  plug  the  holes 


Fig.  74.     Jim    Crow    Rail    Benders 

where  the  kinks  occur,  then  use  the  rail  bender  or  jim 
crow  and  the  track  will  present  a  much  better  appear- 
ance. These  are  also  very  handy  in  cutting  rails. 
Mark  the  rail  with  chisel,  put  on  the  "bender"  and 
break  it. 

Ratchet  bits.  When  drilling  holes  the  bits  should 
not  be  crowded  too  hard,  as  they  are  generally  highly 
tempered  and  are  likely  to  break  at  the  point.  See 
that  the  bit  is  in  the  ratchet  straight  and  fits  snug. 

Ratchet  drills.  Keep  them  as  free  from  grit  and 
dirt  as  possible.  When  placing  them  for  drilling  a 
hole,  be  sure  to  set  them  straight,  so  that  there  will  be 
no  crooked  or  misplaced  hole. 

Standard  track  drills  have  supplanted  the  use  of 
the  ordinary  ratchet  drills  to  a  great  extent  now  and 
there  are  numerous  styles  on  the  market. 


312 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


Striking-  hammer.  Every  section  should  have  one 
of  these.  Twelve  pounds  is  about  the  right  weight, 
and  the  handle  should  be  a  little  shorter  than  for  a 
spike  hammer.  Always  use  the  striking  hammer  for 
striking  the  chisel;  a  spike  hammer  should  never  be 
used  for  this. 

Sight  boards  and  spike  pullers.  Every  foreman 
should  have  some  kind  of  sight  board  or  blocks  to  use 


Fig.  75. 


Ratchet    Drill 


w^hen  taking  out  long  sags.  Another  tool  which  is 
very  handy  is  a  short  spike  puller  for  pulling  spikes 
where  the  claw  bar  cannot  be  used.  In  lieu  of  some- 
thing better,  a  short  pinch  bar,  such  as  engineers  or 
car  repairers  use  with  their  jacks,  can  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage. Bend  them  a  little  more  at  the  heel  and  they 
will   start   spikes  fairly   well.     However,    the   spike 


USE  AND  CARE  OF  TRACK  TOOLS 


313 


pullers  offered  by  manufacturers  are  far  better  and 
handier. 

Oil  for  wooden  handles.    All  wooden  tool  handles 
should  be  well  oiled  before  being  used ;  it  prevents  sea- 


Fig.  76.     Standard    Track    Drill 

son  checking  to  a  great  extent  and  causes  them  to  wear 
smoother. 
Importance  of  having  tools  ready  for  use.     One  of 

the  most  important  things  in  railway  service  is  time. 


314  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Time  represents  so  much  capital  invested  by  the  com- 
pany, and  to  make  this  investment  pay  dividends  you 
must  know  how  to  use  and  care  for  the  tools  you  have. 
IMake  a  practice  of  handling  tools  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, so  that  in  case  of  emergency  you  may  be  pre- 
pared for  anything  that  turns  up.  Think  for  a  mo- 
ment of  the  loss  and  inconvenience  that  is  caused  if 
one  of  the  main  lines  of  one  of  our  great  railway 
systems  is  blocked  for  a  few  hours.  In  case  of  a  wreck 
or  washout,  or  any  other  accident  that  may  happen  to  a 
railroad,  and  a  big  force  is  called  out  to  repair  it  you 
can  make  yourself  of  valuable  service  by  knowing 
how,  when  and  where  to  use  tools,  and  have  them  dis- 
tributed so  that  you  do  not  have  too  many  at  one  place 
and  too  few  at  another.  Have  everything  arranged 
so  that  the  most  work  may  be  accomplished  in  the 
least  possible  time. 


XX 

TIE  PLATES 

Saving  in  tie  renewals.  It  has  been  found  that 
when  the  ordinary  soft  wood  ties,  such  as  white  pine, 
cedar,  red  wood,  chestnut,  tamarack,  and  cypress,  are 
placed  in  track_  where  traffic  is  heavy,  the  fiber  of  the 
wood  will  be  crushed,  abraded  and  destroyed  by  the 
wave  motion  of  the  rail,  long  before  they  would  have 
to  be  removed  on  account  of  natural  decay,  as  de- 
scribed in  Chapter  IX. 

The  natural  life  of  the  soft  woods,  when  used  as 
ties,  averages  ten  or  twelve  years ;  but  they  have  been 
known  to  be  destroyed  in  six  months  under  peculiarly 
severe  conditions,  and  under  ordinary  conditions 
within  a  period  of  from  two  to  four  years.  Hence,  the 
railroads  of  America  have  not  used  soft  wood  ties, 
except  under  the  lightest  traffic,  until  the  tie  plate 
came  and  proved  its  tie  preserving  qualities.  Since 
then  it  has  been  demonstrated  through  practical  ex- 
perience that  by  the  use  of  a  properly  constructed  tie 
plate  the  utilit^  of  these  soft  ties  may  be  extended  to 
their  full  natural  life  of  twelve  years  or  so,  and  that, 
when  they  are  treated  with  a  wood  preservative  and 
placed  in  track  with  tie  plates,  they  will  probably  last 
much  longer.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  tie  re- 
newals on  roads  using  tie  plates  on  soft  ties  will  be 
much  less  than  the  requirements  where  no  tie  plates 
are  used. 

The  density  and  compactness  of  the  wood  in  oak 

and  yellow  pine  ties  is  sufficient  to  withstand  the  de- 

315 


316 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


striictive  action  of  the  rail  on  straight  track  for  a 
period  often  equal  to  their  natural  life.  On  curves  of 
oyer  three  degrees,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  use 
tie  plates  to  preserve  the  hard  wood  ties  to  the  limit  of 
their  natural  life. 

Avoid  adzing  in  maintenance.  The  load  upon  the 
rail  due  to  the  wheels  traveling  over  it  is  both  vertical 
and  lateral,  according  to  the  surface  of  the  track,  mak- 


Fig.  77.     Various   Types  of  Tie  Plates, 

(1)  The   Goldie   Claw   Tie   Plate 

(2)  The    Harriman    Type 

(3)  Dilworth    Special    Shoulder-Flange    Plate 

(4)  Lackawanna  Hook   Shoulder   Plate  with   Screw  Spike 

(5)  Newhall    Plate 


ing  the  strain  greatest  on  its  outer  edge,  and  causing 
the  outer  rail  flange  to  cut  down  into  the  fiber  of  the 
wood  more  quickly  than  the  inner. 

When  the  rail  assumes  this  canted  position  the  gage 
is  widened ;  this  increases  the  lateral  sway  of  trains 
which  requires  that  track  men  draw  the  spikes,  adze 
the  tie  beneath  the  rail  to  a  level  surface  and  then  re- 


TIE  PLATES  ■    317 

spike.  This  adzing  requires  the  tie  to  be  tamped  and 
raised  by  an  amount  equal  to  the  depth  of  adzing,  all 
of  which  can  be  saved  by  the  use  of  a  tie  plate. 

Types  of  tie  plates.  Some  of  these  are  illustrated 
in  Fig.  77.  The  main  dimensions  of  the  Goldie  Claw 
Tie  Plate  are  as  follows : — 

Slioulder    14  ^^^  %  iiicli 

Length 7,  TVs,  8,  Sy^  and  9  inches 

Width   5  inches  and  up 

Thickness   %6  inch  and  up 

Those  of  the  Harriman  type: — 

Shoulder '.  .  .  .  .y^  and  %  inch 

Lengtli  7%,  8,  Sy^  and  8%  inches 

Width    , 6   inches  and  up 

Thickness   %  to  y^  inch 

The  Dilworth  special  high  shoulder  type  for  use 
with  A.  R.  A.  rail,  where  two  spikes  are  used  on  out- 
side of  rail : 

Shoulder    1^    inch 

Length 8,  Sy^  and  9  inches 

Width   5  and  6  inches 

Thickness %  inch  and  up 

This  type  of  plate  can  be  furnished  without  the  de- 
pressions in  the  top. 

The  Lackawanna  Hook  Shoulder  tj^pe  of  plate  as 
illustrated  measures  III/2"  x  7"  x  %"  ;  weight  seven- 
teen (17)  pounds,  for  one  hundred  and  one  (101) 
pound  rail  with  5%"  width  base,  flat  rail  base  seat. 
Central  line  of  plate  is  ex-central  to  rail.  Forty-eight 
per  cent.  (48%)  of  plate  bearing  on  inside  and  fifty- 
two  per  cent.  (52%)  on  outer  side  of  central  line  of 
rail.  Holes  punched  for  four  (4)  holding  (standard 
screw)  spikes,  and  two  (2)  guard  (common)  spikes. 

Fig.  77  shows  a  type  of  plate  with  screw  spike. 

Another  type  is  the  '^Erac"  combined  rail  anchor 


318 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


and  tie  plate    {Fig.  78).     This  combination  consists 
of:— 

1st.  A  rolled  steel  double  shouldered  tie-plate.  2nd. 
A  round  corrugated  steel  pin  working  on  an  angular 
plane.  (A)  Section  of  rail.  (B)  Tie-plate.  (C) 
Shoulder  ^\dth  obtuse  angle  on  inner  surface.  (D)  A 
round,  corrugated  steel  pin. 


Fig.  78.     The  '*Erac"  Combined  Rail  Anchor  and  Tie  Plate 


The  pin  moves  in  angle  in  the  direction  of  the  creep- 
ing, expansion  or  contraction.  The  greater  the  tend- 
ency to  creep  the  more  firmly  the  pin  locks. 

The  ''Lundie"  plate,  of  still  another  type,  is  shown 
in  Fig.  79.  An  inspection  of  test  rails  in  the  main 
track  of  a  trunk  line  road  indicated  the  effect  secured 
by  the  use  of  this  plate  and  was  described  in  the  Ry. 
Age  Gazette  as  follows: 

''New  100-lb.  A.  R.  A.  type  A  rails  were  laid  on 
parallel  tracks  on  a  5-deg.,  40-min.  curve  carrying  a 
heavy  freight  traffic  one  year  before  the  inspection  re- 
ferred to.     The  Lundie  tie  plates  were  placed  under 


TIE  PLATES 


319 


the  rails  in  one  track  while  ordinary  flat  plates  were 
used  in  the  other  track.  The  superelevation  of  the 
high  rail  was  standard.  The  usual  wear  of  the  rail 
head  was  found  on  the  track  laid  with  flat  plates  as 
indicated  in  the  accompanying  drawing  reproduced 
from  measurements  made  of  the  rail  head  at  the  time 
of  inspection,  while  the  rails  laid  on  the  canted  plates 


T 


•si* 


■f.LJ 


T" 


ta 


w-r 


'/ 


1 

5; 


J 


Fig.  79. 


/i"-»l 


Details  of  a  Lundie  Tie  Plate 


show  a  slight  wear  uniform  over  the  surface  of  the 
head.  These  plates  are  also  in  use  in  about  20  other 
installations  in  which  it  is  said  that  similar  results  are 
being  secured. 

''This  tie  plate  is  designed  to  support  the  rail  at 
an  angle  of  1  in  20  with  the  horizontal,  equivalent  to 
the  angle  of  coning  on  car  wheels  so  that  the  surface  of 
contact  between  the  wheel  and  the  rail  and  the  rail  and 
the  tie  plate  will  be  perpendicular  to  the  direction  of 


320 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


application  of  the  wheel  load.  In  addition,  the  under- 
side of  the  plate  is  given  a  bearing  on  the  tie,  a  large 
part  of  which  is  perpendicular  to  this  stress  by  a  series 
of  stepped  surfaces,  each  of  which  has  an  angle  of  1  in 
20  with  the  horizontal.  The  advantages  claimed  for 
this  method  of  support  in  addition  to  the  reduction  in 
wear  on  the  rail  head  are  a  decreased  tendency  of  the 
rails  to  spread,  a  lessening  of  the  internal  stresses  in 
the  rail  due  to  loading  the  head  centrally  and  a  reduc- 
tion in  wear  on  car  wheels  equivalent  to  that  on  the 
rail  head.  The  plate  is  cambered  on  a  10-ft.  radius 
parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  rail  so  that  it  does  not 
present  a  sharp  edge  under  the  base  of  the  rail  when 


FLAT  TIE  PLATES 


LUNDlC  TIE  FLUTES 


Fig.  80.  Cross  Sections  of  Rails  in  Adjacent  Tracks  after 
One  Year's  Service  on  Flat  and  Lundie  Tie  Plates,  Re- 
spectively, Showing  Difference  in  Wear  on  tlie  Heads. 

the  wheel  load  passes  over  it.  It  is  claimed  that  this 
feature  gives  the  added  advantages  of  an  easy  riding 
track  in  that  the  rail  adjusts  its  bearing  on  the  plate, 
and  an  absence  of  rattling  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
plate  does  not  tilt  under  approaching  or  receding 
loads.  The  plate  is  said  to  perform  its  functions 
equally  well  on  hard  and  soft  ties,  as  on  a  hard  surface 
which  does  not  compact  readily  the  camber  will  allow 
complete  resilience  under  load,  the  flattening  of  the 
plate  producing  stresses  within  the  elastic  limit  of  the 
metal." 

Surface.  Where  no  plates  are  used  the  old  ties 
must  be  adzed  for  several  years  before  they  are  to  be 
taken  out  of  the  track  to  maintain  the  rail  level,  and 


TIE  PLATES  321 

when  so  adzed  they  must  be  raised  to  restore  the  sur- 
face, hence  the  roadbed  beneath  them  is  disturbed  and 
requires  filling  in  and  tamping  under  the  adzed  ties, 
leaving  such  portions  of  the  roadbed  soft  and  yield- 
ing, while  other  parts  are  thoroughly  compact  and 
rigid,  the  result  being  a  bad  riding  track. 

When  all  ties  are  protected  with  tie  plates  these 
conditions  do  not  occur,  the  tie  plate  preventing  the 
cutting  of  the  tie,  and  consequently  the  necessity  for 
adzing  and  retamping,  leaving  the  roadbed  uniform, 
and  making  a  smooth  riding  track.  Thus  a  great  sav- 
ing in  track  labor  is  accomplished. 

Gage.  The  lateral  force  tending  to  throw  the  rail 
to  a  wider  gage  is  resisted  by  the  outer  spike  only, 
which  in  its  turn  is  supported  by  the  fiber  of  the  wood 
behind  it;  but  when  a  tie  plate  with  shoulder  is  used 
the  widening  of  gage  can  then  take  place  only  if  both 
spikes  together  with  the  plate  move  laterally,  which  is 
almost  impossible.  Hence  we  have  the  full  resistance 
of  both  spikes,  plus  that  offered  by  the  plate  itself,  to 
prevent  widening  of  gage,  giving  increased  safety  in 
operation. 

Holding  rail  vertical.  Of  the  two  forces  acting  on 
the  head  of  the  rail,  the  vertical  one  is  by  far  the 
greater.  With  the  use  of  rail  braces  these  two  forces 
are  transmitted  to  the  tie  as  follows:  The  small 
lateral  force  is  transmitted  directly  to  the  rail  brace 
and  through  it  and  the  spikes  holding  it  to  the  ties, 
but  the  much  greater  vertical  force  is  transmitted  to 
the  tie  directly  at  a  point  near  the  edge  of  the  outer 
rail  flange,  and  this  force  the  rail  brace  is  not  designed 
to,  and  does  not  resist,  with  the  result  that  the  tie  is 
cut  out  and  the  rail  brace  is  canted.  By  the  use  of 
the  tie  plate  the  much  greater  vertical  force  is  re- 
sisted by  the  plate  and  is  distributed  over  the  tie. 
The  much  smaller  lateral  force  is  resisted  by  the  inner 
and  one  or  two  of  the  outer  spikes,  according  to  the 


322 


THE  TRACKj\L\N'S  HELPER 


necessity  of  the  case.  This  fact  has  become  so  well 
established  that  after  a  trial  of  tie  plates  practically 
all  railroads  in  the  United  States  having  the  sharpest 
curves  and  heaviest  grades  have  abandoned  the  use 
of  rail  braces  and  adopted  tie  plates  in  their  stead. 
The  use  of  the  tie  plate  on  curves  insures  a  normal 
position  of  the  rail,  prevents  the  rail  from  rolling, 
which,  in  turn,  insures  a  true  gage. 

Necessary  features  of  a  good  tie  plate.  A  good  tie 
plate  must  become  part  of  the  tie  into  which  it  is 
bedded,  in  order  to  avoid  any  movement  between 
plate  and  tie.  This  may  be  accomplished  by  longitudi- 
nal flanges  on  the  plate  entering  the  tie  parallel  with 
its  fibers,  and  compressing  them  without  injuring 
them,  the  reactionary  pressure  of  the  fibers  upon  the 


Left  Hand 
Punching 


Right  Hand 
Punching 


Fig.  81. 


Methods   of 


Punching 


Right  and  Left  Hand 
Punching 

Tie  Plates 


flanges  of  the  plate  making  the  latter  practically  a 
part  of  the  tie.  A  well-known  illustration  of  this  fact 
is  that  when  an  axe  is  driven  into  a  piece  of  timber 
parallel  with  the  grain  of  the  wood,  it  remains  firmly 
wedged  in,  while  if  cut  across  the  grain  it  has  no  grip 
at  all,  and  is  easilv  worked  loose.  * 

A  disadvantage  of  the  use  of  flanges  is  that  they 
force  the  fibers  of  the  wood  apart  and  leave  spaces  into 
which  water  may  enter  and  start  decay.     This  diffi- 


TIE  PLATES  323 

culty  is  responsible  for  the  abandonment  by  some 
roads  of  this  type  of  plate. 

A  good  tie  plate  must  have  sufficient  strength  to  dis- 
tribute the  load  from  the  rail  to  the  outer  ends  of  the 
plate  without  bending,  for  if  this  is  not  the  case  the 
plate  buckles,  loosens  from  the  tie  and  destroys  the 
fibre  of  the  tie  rapidly.  A  point  to  be  guarded  against 
is  the  using  of  too  much  metal  in  the  plate;  if  this 
occurs  it  will  work  itself  loose  from  the  tie  by  its  own 
inertia  and  destroy  the  wood  fibres.  The  flanges  used 
on  some  plates  act  as  girders  and  distribute  the  load 
on  the  rail  to  the  extreme  end  of  the  plate  in  a  much 
more  economical  manner  than  if  the  plate  is  increased 
in  thickness. 

There  must  also  be  provision  made  for  sand  to  es- 
cape from  the  top  of  the  plate ;  otherwise  the  grit  get- 
ting between  rail  and  plate  will  gradually  destroy 
both  rail  and  plate ;  bat  with  the  proper  means  of  es- 
cape, such  as  channels  or  ducts,  it  has  been  found  by 
experience  that  it  has  but  little  effect  upon  the  plate. 

Information  required  when  ordering  tie  plates: 
Weight  and  section  of  rail.  Width  of  rail  base.  Style 
of  plate.  Length  of  plate,  AVidth  of  plate,  Thickness  of 
plate.  Height  of  shoulder,  Size  of  spikes  to  be  used. 
Number  of  holes  required — if  three  holes,  give  dis- 
tance between  centers  of  inside  holes.  State  whether 
joint  or  intermediate  plates  are  wanted.  On  joint 
plates  the  following  information  is  also  required: 
Stagger  of  holes  in  angle  bars.  What  is  the  width  out 
to  out  of  angle  bars?  Should  shoulder  of  joint  plates 
abut  against  rail  or  against  angle  bar?  If  against 
rail,  send  drawing  showing  clearance  between  angle 
(or  splice)  bar  and  rail. 


XXI 

WRECKING 

The  first  duty  of  a  track  foreman,  when  he  receives 
notice  that  there  has  been  an  accident  and  he  is 
wanted,  is  to  collect  his  men  and  take  his  hand  car 
and  all  his  portable  tools,  even  those  which  he  thinks 
he  is  not  likely  to  use.  He  should  not  go  short  of 
tools  expecting  that  other  foremen  will  have  enough. 
The  other  foremen  may  think  the  same  thing  of  him 
and  valuable  time  will  be  lost. 

On  the  ground.  When  the  foreman  arrives  at  the 
scene  of  accident,  he  should  proceed  immediately  to  do 
whatever  work,  in  his  judgment,  would  contribute 
most  to  putting  the  track  in  a  passable  condition  for 
trains,  notwithstanding  the  absence  of  his  superior 
officer,  who  may  not  be  able  to  reach  the  wreck  for  sev- 
eral hours.  If  the  track  is  torn  up,  and  the  cars  do 
not  interfere,  put  in  ties  enough  to  carry  a  train  safely 
over  where  you  can.  If  the  rails  are  bent  out  of  shape 
secure  some  from  near  by  if  possible.  If  this  cannot 
be  done,  get  as  many  as  possible  of  the  damaged  rails 
to  their  proper  shape,  and  spike  down  in  the  track. 

If  a  small  bridge  or  culvert  has  given  way,  crib  it 
with  ties  until  you  can  cross  it  with  track. 

To  square  a  car  truck.  If  one  or  both  trucks  be- 
neath a  car  should  leave  the  track  at  once  and  turn 
across  it,  as  is  often  the  case,  uncouple  from  the  car 
and  hitch  a  switch  rope  to  the  corner  of  the  truck  and 

to  the  draw  head  of  the  car  next  to  the  one  which  is  off 

324 


WRECKING  325 

the  track.  Then  pull  the  truck  into  a  position  parallel 
to  the  track,  after  which  it  can  be  put  on  the  rails 
with  the  wrecking"  frogs. 

If  the  car  should  be  loaded  very  heavily,  it  may  be 
advisable  to  raise  the  end  with  jacks  before  squaring 
the  truck. 

Cars  off  on  ties.  When  cars  have  got  off  the  track, 
and  are  still  on  the  ties,  it  is  best  to  put  blocks  or  ties 
between  those  in  the  track  to  keep  the  wheels  from 
sinking  between  the  ties.  By  doing  this  at  once,  be- 
fore attempting  to  put  the  cars  back  on  the  track,  con- 
siderable time  and  labor  will  generally  be  saved. 

Oil  the  rail.  If  an  engine  or  car  mounts  the  outside 
rail  of  a  sharp  curve,  and  persists  in  running  off  the 
track,  oil  the  rails  thoroughly  where  the  most  trouble 
is  experienced.  This  will  generally  allow  the  engine 
or  car  to  go  around  the  curve  without  leaving  the 
track. 

Very  rusty  rails  on  a  curve  track  which  has  not  been 
used  for  some  time  often  cause  the  wheels  to  mount 
the  outside  rail,  the  surface  not  being  smooth  enough 
to  allow  the  wheels  to  slide. 

Car  trucks  in  the  ditch.  When  the  car  trucks  are 
thrown  some  distance  from  the  track  in  a  wreck,  the 
quickest  method  of  putting  them  on  the  track  again, 
if  you  have  no  derrick  car,  is  to  take  bars  and  turn 
them  almost  parallel  to  the  track,  but  with  one  end  a 
little  nearer  to  ^he  track.  Hitch  a  rope  to  this  end  of 
the  truck,  and  to  the  engine,  or  the  nearest  car  which 
is  coupled  to  the  engine,  and  the  truck  will  pull  onto 
the  track  easily,  if  there  is  nothing  to  obstruct  its 
passage. 

To  turn  a  car  truck  on  soft  ground.  When  car 
trucks  are  sunk  in  soft  ground  at  a  wreck,  and  there 
is  no  derrick  car  or  other  lifting  apparatus  at  hand, 
a  good  way  to  handle  them  is  to  place  a  tie  cross-ways 
in  the  ground,  about  four  or  five  feet  from  the  truck ; 


326  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

then  place  two  more  long  ties  or  timbers,  with  their 
centers  resting  across  the  first  tie,  and  their  ends  in 
front  of  the  truck  wheels.  The  truck  can  then  be 
pushed  up  on  top  of  the  long  ties  as  if  on  a  track. 
When  it  is  centered  over  the  bottom  tie,  the  truck  can 
be  easily  turned  to  run  in  any  direction. 

To  put  a  wrecked  gravel  plow  back  on  cars. 
Trackmen  in  charge  of  a  ballasting  outfit,  if  they  are 
new  at  the  business,  are  often  at  a  loss  to  know  the 
quickest  way  to  put  a  plow  back  on  the  cars  if  it  should 
accidentally  be  pulled  off.  The  best  Avay  in  such  a 
case  is  to  roll  the  plow  or  pull  it  with  the  engine  and 
cable  into  the  same  position  on  the  track  that  it  would 
occupy  on  the  cars;  then  raise  up  the  point  of  the 
plow  until  you  can  back  the  end  of  a  car  under  it, 
hook  the  end  of  the  cable  to  the  plow,  block  the  car 
w^heels  and  pull  the  plow  upon  the  car  with  the  engine. 

Sliding  a  car  on  a  tie.  If  the  rear  truck  of  any  kind 
of  a  car  should  by  accident  be  derailed,  broken,  or 
rendered  useless,  the  car  can  be  taken  to  the  next  sta- 
tion by  uncoupling  it  from  the  cars  behind  it.  Re- 
move the  disabled  truck  from  the  track ;  then  take  the 
caboose  jacks  and  raise  the  body  of  the  car  enough  to 
slip  a  tie  under  it  across  the  track  rails;  let  the  car 
down  upon  the  tie,  and  by  running  carefully  the  car 
can  be  hauled  to  the  station  or  side  track,  sliding  on 
the  tie. 

If  sliding  the  disabled  car  on  a  tie  is  not  practicable 
it  is  often  a  good  plan  to  block  up  both  ends  of  the  car 
on  ties  and  move  the  forward  truck  under  the  other 
end  of  the  car  and  haul  it  to  the  station  with  one  end 
resting  on  the  coupling;  or  substitute  another  truck 
for  the  damaged  one,  that  being  the  most  convenient 
way  in  some  cases. 

Loaded  wrecked  cars.  It  is  always  best,  when  a 
wrecked  car  is  loaded,  to  remove  the  load,  or  transfer 
it  to  another  car  on  the  good  track.     Outfits  starting  to 


WRECKING  327 

go  to  a  wreck  should  provide  themselves  with  all  tools 
and  appliances  necessary  for  this  purpose. 

Broken  center  pins.  Car-truck  center  pins,  which 
have  been  twisted  or  broken  in  a  wreck,  may  be  re- 
moved by  going  inside  the  car  and  cutting  away  with 
a  hammer  and  cold  chisel  the  iron  ring  which  forms 
the  head  and  shoulder  of  the  pin.  The  pin  may  then 
be  driven  down  through  the  bottom  of  the  car. 

There  should  always  be  a  man  on  hand  at  a  wreck 
to  look  after  such  jobs  and  promptly  remove  all  broken 
brake-beamiS,  hanging  irons,  etc.,  in  order  not  to  delay 
the  work  after  the  cars  are  picked  up,  or  are  ready  to 
be  put  upon  the  track. 

Pulling  on  a  chain  or  rope.  When  pulling  on  a 
chain  or  rope  with  a  locomotive  at  a  wreck,  care  should 
be  taken  not  to  have  too  much  slack,  as  chains  break 
easily  when  jerked.  The  same  is  true  of  switch  ropes, 
but  when  they  are  new  or  not  much  worn,  they  will 
stand  a  greater  slack  strain  than  a  chain  will.  Wire 
cables  are  preferable  to  either  a  chain  or  a  rope  for 
pulling  and  they  will  stand  a  much  greater  slack 
strain  if  not  allowed  to  become  twisted  out  of  shape. 

There  is  always  danger  of  chains  or  switch  ropes 
breaking  when  engines  are  pulling  on  them  at  a  wreck, 
and  those  working  near  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand 
too  close  to  them. 

A  '  *  dead  man  "  is  a  device  sometimes  used  to  anchor 
a  guy  or  stay  (rope,  where  wrecking  cars,  engines  or 
derricks  have  to  do  very  heavy  hoisting  or  pulling.  It 
is  made  by  digging  a  trench  five  or  six  feet  deep,  at  a 
proper  distance  from  the  track  and  parallel  to  it.  A 
narrow  cross  trench  is  then  dug,  slanting  upward  from 
the  bottom  and  middle  of  the  first  trench  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground.  A  good  track  tie  or  heavy  timber 
is  then  buried  in  the  first  trench  and  the  rope  is  passed 
down  through  the  cross  trench  and  secured  to  the 
timber. 


328  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

Wrecked  engines.  The  first  thing  to  do  with  a 
wrecked  engine,  if  the  frame  is  good,  is  to  take  jacks 
and  put  the  engine  in  an  upright  position,  such  as  it 
would  occupy  if  standing  on  the  main  track.  It  may 
then  be  blocked  up  and  raised  sufficiently  to  place 
under  it  rails  and  ties,  forming  a  temporary  track. 
The  main  track  should  then  be  cut  at  a  rail  joint,  and 
lined  out  in  an  easy  curve  until  the  ends  of  the  rails 
are  in  line  with  the  temporary  track.  The  tracks 
should  then  be  connected  and  the  engine  pulled  upon 
the  main  track.  If  the  engine  stands  at  such  an  angle 
as  to  require  a  very  sharp  curve  in  the  track  over 
which  it  is  pulled,  put  plenty  of  oil  on  the  track  rails, 
and  elevate  the  outside  rail  of  the  curve. 

How  to  work  at  a  wreck.  The  first  thing  to  do  at 
au}^  wreck  of  importance,  where  cars  block  the  main 
track,  is  to  use  the  first  locomotive  which  can  be  put 
into  service,  and  with  switch  ropes  pull  clear  of  the 
tracks  all  cars,  trucks,  or  other  wreckage  which  can- 
not be  readil}^  put  back  on  the  track  with  the  facilities 
at  hand.  Proper  care  should  be  taken,  in  doing  this 
part  of  the  work,  not  to  injure  freight  in  the  cars. 
When  necessary,  remove  it  from  the  wrecked  cars  to  a 
place  of  safety,  and  pull  the  cars  and  trucks  into  a 
position  alongside  the  track,  where  it  will  be  handy 
for  the  wrecking  car  to  pick  them  up  after  it  ar- 
rives. 

The  moment  the  track  is  clear  of  Avreckage,  the 
track  force  should  go  to  work  and  repair  it,  and 
quickly  put  it  in  good  condition  for  trains. 

Track  foremen  should  not  allow  their  men  to  be- 
come confused  or  mixed  up  with  other  gangs  of  men 
who  are  present  at  a  wreck,  except  when  it  is  neces- 
sary for  more  than  one  gang  of  men  to  work  together ; 
even  then  the  foreman  should  keep  his  own  men  as 
much  together  as  possible,  in  order  always  to  be  able 


WRECKING  329 

to  control  their  actions  and  work  them  to  the  best 
advantage. 

No  matter  what  part  of  the  work  at  a  wreck  a  fore- 
man is  called  upon  to  do,  he  should  act  promptly,  and 
work  with  a  will  to  get  the  wreck  cleared  up  and  the 
track  ready  for  the  passage  of  trains  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible. 


XXII 

GENERAL   INSTRUCTIONS 

Discharges.  Upon  the  day  on  which  a  man  is  dis- 
charged the  foreman  should  make  out  his  time  in  full 
on  the  time  book,  and  write  opposite  his  name  on  the 
time  book,  ''discharged,"  or  the  letters  C.  G.,  which 
means  "certificate  of  time  given." 

The  foreman  should  always  fill  out  a  discharge 
check,  using  the  regular  blank  form  for  that  purpose. 
The  man's  name  should  be  written  in  full  on  the  dis- 
charge check  and  spelled  in  the  same  way  as  on  the 
time  book.  His  occupation,  number  of  days  worked, 
and  amount  due  him  should  also  correspond  with  the 
same  on  the  time  book.  The  discharge  check  should 
be  signed  by  the  foreman  and  forwarded  to  the  proper 
officer  for  approval.  A  board  bill  should  also  accom- 
pany the  discharge  check  whenever  there  is  any  de- 
duction to  be  made  from  a  man's  wages  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

Foremen  should  not  discharge  any  of  their  men 
without  sufficient  cause,  except  when  they  have  re- 
ceived an  order  to  reduce  their  forces ;  nor  should  a 
foreman  keep  any  more  men  than  the  regular  force 
allowed  him  without  orders  from  his  superior  officer. 

Ride  over  your  section  on  the  engine.  Section 
foremen  should  take  an  occasional  ride  over  their  sec- 
tions either  on  the  engine  or  on  the  back  platform  of 
the  rear  coach  or  caboose  of  a  train ;  and  while  riding 
over  the  track  they  should  not  make  a  pleasure  trip  of 

it  merely,  but  should  watch  closely  how  the  cars  ride, 

330 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  331 

note  all  the  worst  places  in  their  sections  and  what 
causes  these  places  to  att'ect  the  smooth  running  of 
the  train.  A  train  running*  at  the  speed  of  45  miles 
per  hour  does  not  ride  as  smoothly  as  one  traveling  20 
miles  per  hour  on  the  same  track,  because  the  cars 
w^hich  travel  slowly  have  more  time  to  get  righted  after 
the  wheels  meet  with  a  place  out  of  line,  level,  gage 
or  surface,  while  the  fast  train  may  meet  and  pass 
several  of  these  slight  obstructions  within  a  second 
of  time,  thus  having  no  time  to  regain  its  balance. 
When  a  train  runs  along  smoothly  for  a  distance  and 
suddenly  swings  to  one  side,  if  it  be  on  a  straight 
track,  the  place  is  either  low  on  that  side,  or  is  badly 
out  of  line  or  gage.  If  the  train  be  on  a  curve,  and 
the  car  swing  heavily  toward  the  higher  rail,  there  is 
not  enough  elevation  in  the  curve  at  that  point.  If 
the  car  swing  toward  the  inside  rail  of  the  curve, 
there  is  too  much  elevation  of  the  outer  rail  at  that 
place  for  the  speed  being  traveled.  A  low  joint  on 
the  inside  rail  will  cause  the  train  to  swing  to  that 
side,  and  the  striking  of  the  wheel  flange  against  joints 
that  are  hooked  in  out  of  line  on  the  outer  rail  will 
also  throw  the  car  toward  the  inner  rail.  A  foreman 
can  soon  become  expert  in  distinguishing  the  slight 
dilference  in  the  motion  of  the  car  as  it  swings  to 
either  side  of  the  track,  and  tell  the  cause  by  ex- 
amining the  bad  places  in  the  track  soon  after  riding 
over  it  on  the  tf  ain. 

Accidents.  All  personal  injuries  to  men  working 
in  track  service  should  be  reported  on  the  proper 
blank  form  by  the  foreman  to  his  superior,  and  all 
accidents  resulting  in  damage  to  the  railroad  com- 
pany's property  should  also  be  promptly  reported. 
When  there  are  no  suitable  blank  forms  a  written  re- 
port should  be  made,  and  signed  by  witnesses. 

Go  over  the  track.  Section  foremen  should  always, 
in  very  stormy  weather,  go  over  their  sections  and  ex- 


332  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

amine  all  culverts,  bridges  and  other  places  liable  to 
wash,  and  report  condition  of  track  to  roadmaster. 
In  going  over  section,  they  should  be  very  thorough  in 
their  examination  of  everything  in  their  charge.  See 
that  the  telegraph  lines  are  in  good  order :  if  they  are 
not,  repair  them  when  you  can,  and  report  any  defects 
that  may  need  the  service  of  the  telegraph  line  re- 
pairer. 

Foremen  should  also  notice  the  condition  of  all 
snow  or  right  of  way  fences,  and  repair  all  breaks  in 
them  as  soon  as  found.  Gates  left  open  by  farmers 
should  be  closed  and  secured.  Unreliable  men,  or 
those  ignorant  of  their  duties,  should  never  be  de- 
tailed to  patrol  the  track. 

Raise  up  wires.  When  telegraph  wires  are  found 
down  after  a  storm,  foremen  should  hang  them  high 
enough  on  the  poles  to  insure  their  working  properly 
and  to  prevent  cattle  or  teams  crossing  the  track  from 
running  against  them. 

Extremes  of  temperature.  Whenever  the  tempera- 
ture changes  suddenly  there  is  always  danger,  whether 
the  changes  be  due  to  extreme  heat  or  extreme  cold. 
Section  foremen  should  be  very  particular  to  go  over 
and  examine  all  the  track  on  their  sections  to  discover 
places  where  track  has  been  kinked  and  thrown  out 
of  line  by  the  heat,  or  splices  broken  and  rails  pulled 
apart  by  the  extreme  cold.  Foremen  should  remem- 
ber that  accidents  of  the  kind  mentioned  are  liable  to 
happen  at  any  point  on  the  road,  even  where  the  rails 
seem  to  have  the  proper  allowance  for  expansion,  be- 
cause the  change  of  temperature  may  come  on  quickly. 
Places  where  the  ballast  is  light,  or  where  the  track  is 
not  filled  in  between  the  ties,  are  the  most  likely  to  be 
affected. 

Surface  bent  rails.  In  wet  cuts,  or  other  low  places, 
the  track  often  becomes  very  rough,  and  the  ties  sink 
into  the  mud  in  places.     The  rails  then,  if  of  light 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  333 

weight,  become  more  or  less  surface  bent  before  the 
track  can  be  raised  up,  or  repaired  properly.  If  the 
surface  bent  rails  cannot  be  replaced  by  good  ones 
before  the  track  is  ballasted  up  they  are  apt  to  cause 
the  foreman  much  trouble  in  trying  to  make  them 
remain  in  true  surface,  if  he  does  not  understand  how 
to  straighten  them.  This  can  best  be  done  by  the 
following  method:  If,  for  instance,  the  rail  bows  up 
at  the  quarter  or  the  center,  make  the  ties  solid  at 
each  end  of  the  bent  place  on  some  warm  day,  then 
remove  enough  material  from  under  the  ties,  where 
the  rail  is  bent,  so  that  the  weight  of  an  engine  pass- 
ing slowly  over  the  rail  will  bend  the  bowed  place, 
just  as  much  below^  level,  as  it  is  then  above.  After  a 
train  has  passed  you  will  generally  find  that  the  rail 
has  resumed  its  proper  shape.  If  the  bend  in  the  rail 
is  downward,  hang  the  center  of  the  bent  place  upon 
one  or  more  solid  ties,  according  to  the  length  of  the 
bend,  and  allow  the  balance  of  the  track  under  the  rail 
to  remain  as  it  was.  Joints  which  have  been  allowed 
to  remain  low  for  some  time  often  cause  the  rail  to  be 
come  surface  bent  in  the  short  quarter,  and  they  are 
very  difficult  to  keep  up  ever  after  unless  the  kink  is 
taken  out  of  the  rail. 

A  loose  joint  tie  in  gravel  or  sand  ballast  will  soon 
pump  out  enough  gravel  to  cause  the  rail  to  bend  a 
short  distance  from  the  end,  unless  it  is  taken  care  of 
at  once.  When -the  foreman  wishes  to  straighten  any 
surface  bent  rails,  he  should  always  signal  the  first 
train,  and  have  it  run  slowly,  because  there  is  danger 
of  the  rails  breaking  where  they  are  not  fully  sup- 
ported. Surface  bent  rails  which  are  so  bad  that 
they  cannot  be  straightened  while  in  the  track  may  be 
taken  out  and  fixed  with  the  curving  hook  and  lever. 

Low  joints.  When  picking  up  low  joints  in  gravel 
or  stone  ballasted  track,  particularly  where  the  de- 
pressions  are   only   slight,   if   sufficient   force   is   al- 


334  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

lowed  track  foremen  should  always  use  tamping  bars, 
or  tamping  picks,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
ballast,  to  tamp  up  the  track  ties  to  the  proper  sur- 
face level. 

Many  things  other  than  a  weak  foundation  make 
low  joints  in  track.  Loose  bolts  in  the  joint  fasten- 
ings make  low  joints  because  they  allow  them  to  bend 
down  under  the  weight  of  the  engine  and  cars.  Bad 
gage  and  line  make  low  joints  because  the  cars,  when 
trains  run  fast,  are  thrown  heavily  from  one  side 
of  the  track  to  the  opposite,  and  the  joint,  being  the 
weakest  point,  is  affected  most.  Wide  spaces  between 
the  ends  of  the  track  rail  also  make  low  joints,  and 
assist  the  car  wiieels  to  batter  the  ends  of  the  rails. 

When  rails  are  laid  on  soft  wood  ties,  or  when  the 
ties  have  commenced  to  decay,  you  will  generally  find 
that  a  low  joint  is  wide  in  the  gage  between  the  rails. 

The  conviction  gains  ground  daily  that  low  joints 
are  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  faulty  construction 
of  the  ordinary  angle  bar  joints,  and  this  theory  is 
borne  out  by  the  fact  that  roads  using  improved  joint 
fastenings  have  very  little  trouble  from  this  cause. 

Examining  track.  When  the  track  rails  on  a  sec- 
tion become  badly  worn  and  need  to  be  repaired 
often,  or  when  the  ground  is  frozen  solid  in  winter, 
section  foremen  should  go  over  their  sections  daily 
and  examine  the  track  thoroughly  for  broken  or 
cracked  rails,  removing  such  rails  and  replacing  them 
with  good  ones. 

It  is  the  duty  of  foremen  never  to  deviate  from 
this  rule  unless  a  regular  track  walker  is  employed 
for  this  purpose,  or  when  they  have  orders  to  the 
contrary. 

The  section  foreman  is  responsible  for  the  condi- 
tion of  the  track  in  his  charge,  and  he  should  do 
everything  in  his  power  to  contribute  to  the  safety  of 
passengers   and   trains   passing   over   it.     Eeport   all 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  335 

broken  rails  to  the  roadmaster  as  soon  as  found,  giv- 
ing' brand,  weight,  age,  etc. 

Scarcity  of  repair  rails.  When  repair  rails  are 
scarce,  and  a  foreman  cannot  procure  enough  to  ex- 
change for  all  the  damaged  rails  in  his  main  track, 
he  can  with  only  a  couple  of  extra  rails  keep  his  track 
perfectly  safe  by  commencing  in  time  to  bring  into 
station  the  worst  rails  on  the  main  track. 

Take  the  two  extra  rails  out  on  the  section,  if  good 
and  of  the  proper  length,  substitute  them  for  two 
battered  rails,  bring  the  two  battered  rails  into  the 
station  and  put  them  in  track  in  the  yard  or  some- 
where near  the  station,  in  place  of  two  more  good 
rails.  Take  these  out  on  section  as  before,  and  sub- 
stitute for  battered  rails.  In  this  way  a  foreman  may 
exchange  four  or  five  carloads  of  rails,  or  about  one 
mile  of  steel,  until  he  receives  a  supply  of  repair  rails. 

Battered  rails  are  safer  within  one-half  mile  of  a 
station  at  the  track  foreman's  headquarters,  than 
out  on  his  section,  because  trains  run  more  slowly 
there.  Battered  rails  are  less  likely  to  break  near 
the  station.  They  are  also  much  more  easily  watched, 
and  taken  care  of.  When  repair  rails  are  received 
the  battered  rails  can  all  be  removed  at  once.  In 
order  to  be  on  the  safe  side,  the  foreman  should  place 
his  order  for  repair  rails  in  time  to  have  them  on  hand 
when  needed  and  thus  avoid  makeshifts. 

Changing  battered  rails.  The  best  method  for 
changing  rails  which  have  become  unfit  for  use  in 
the  main  track,  when  the  rails  furnished  for  repair 
are  of  a  different  length  from  those  in  the  main  track, 
is  as  follows: 

Put  in  track  near  the  station  a  string  of  repair 
rails,  and  take  out  rails  of  a  proper  length  to  change 
the  battered  ones  out  on  the  section.  In  order  to 
do  this  right  and  save  unnecessary  expense  and  labor 
always  try  to  have  the  number  of  repair  rails  you 


336  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

put  in  track  replace  a  greater  or  less  number  of  rails 
of  a  different  length  without  any  cutting.  If  you 
have  not  the  right  number  of  rails  without  cutting 
one,  use  a  number  of  rails  that  will  give  the  least 
waste. 

Example  : 

10  33-foot  rails  equal  330  feet. 

11  30-foot  rails  equal  330  feet. 

Or: 

7  30-foot  rails  equal  210  feet. 

8  26-foot  rails  equal  208  feet. 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  above  example,  there  are 
onlv  two  feet  to  be  cut  from  the  last  30-foot  rail  of 
the  7  to  replace  8  26-foot  rails,  and  for  this  waste  a 
foreman  should  select  (if  he  has  it)  a  rail  battered 
on  the  end,  that  will  give  the  required  28  feet  of 
good  rail. 

Extra  work.  It  is  customary  on  most  railroads  to 
call  upon  the  trackmen  to  do  extra  work  occasionally, 
such  as  assisting  the  telegraph  line  repairer,  the 
bridge  carpenters,  pump  repairers,  ets.,  whenever 
these  gangs  cannot  well  perform  their  work  alone,  or 
when  a  sufficient  force  of  men  cannot  be  procured. 

Track  foremen  should  not  assist  wdth  their  men  at 
any  kind  of  extra  work  without  orders  from  above. 
When  such  orders  are  received  the  track  foreman 
should  give  only  the  amount  of  help  required,  using 
all  of  his  men  or  only  part,  as  may  be  necessary. 
Never  employ  all  of  your  force  when  fewer  men  could 
do  the  work  as  well,  unless  your  orders  require  it. 
Charge  accurately  on  the  time  sheet,  and  to  the 
department  to  which  it  belongs,  all  extra  work  per- 
formed by  your  men  during  the  month.  Whenever 
you  do  any  extra  work,  for  which  there  is  no  printed 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  337 

heading  on  the  distribution  sheet,  state  in  writing  in 
the  column  where  you  put  the  time,  what  the  labor 
was  for. 

Train  accidents.  In  case  of  accident  to  a  train, 
the  section  foreman  who  is  called  should  take  his 
men  and  tools  and  go  to  the  place,  no  matter  whether 
it  is  on  his  section  or  not,  giving  all  the  assistance 
possible.  Section  foremen  should  not  wait  for  orders 
to  do  any  extra  work  which  they  know  to  be  abso- 
lutely necessary,  but  should  do  the  work  at  once,  and 
remain  out  with  their  men  until  everything  is  safe. 
If  a  foreman  is  notified  by  trainmen  or  others  of 
something  wrong  on  a  section  adjoining  his  own,  such 
as  a  broken  rail,  a  fire  along  the  right  of  way,  or  the 
telegraph  wires  broken  or  down,  he  should  make  all 
possible  speed  to  get  to  the  place  of  danger  without 
questioning  his  right  to  go,  because  it  may  not  be 
possible  to  notify  the  proper  authority  and  any  de- 
lay may  cause  the  company  considerable  loss. 

At  wrecks.  Whenever  there  is  a  wreck  on  the  road, 
the  foreman  on  whose  section  the  accident  happens 
should  keep  an  accurate  account  of  the  labor  and 
material  expended  in  repairing  the  damage  done  to 
the  track.  This  account,  together  with  the  one  of 
the  damage  done  to  rails,  ties,  spikes,  bolts,  or  to  the 
roadbed,  should  be  put  in  the  form  of  a  report,  and 
properly  sent  in  immediately  after  the  track  is  re- 
paired. Time  of  men  working  at  a  wreck  should  be 
charged  to  that  account  on  the  time  sheet. 

Water  stations.  At  all  the  water  stations  the  sec- 
tion foreman  should  note  the  amount  of  water  in 
tanks  when  passing,  and  where  wind  engines  do  the 
pumping  they  should  be  oiled  often,  and  any  defects 
in  them  or  the  pumps  should  be  repaired,  if  possible, 
or  reported  by  telegraph.  Section  foremen  and  their 
men  should  pump  water  into  the  tanks  whenever  the 
wind    engine    fails    to    supply    enough    for    trains. 


338  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

When  it  is  necessary  to  pump  by  hand,  foremen 
should  commence  to  pump  before  there  is  any  dan- 
ger of  the  supply  in  the  tank  being  exhausted. 
Where  steam  pumps  are  to  furnish  the  water  for 
trains,  section  foremen  should  assist  the  man  in 
charge  to  do  any  necessary  repairing  which,  he  can- 
not do  alone. 

Trespassers.  Foremen  should  see  that  no  person 
is  allowed  to  erect  dwellings,  stables  or  other  build- 
ings within  the  limits  of  the  railroad  company's  right 
of  way,  or  in  any  other  manner  trespass  on  the  com- 
pany's property,  without  permission  from  their  su- 
periors. 

Protect  fences.  When  burning  grass,  weeds  or 
other  material  along  the  right  of  way,  foremen  should 
be  very  careful  to  protect  the  fence  from  fire.  Never 
go  away  from  a  place  where  you  have  been  burning 
rubbish  leaving  any  fire  behind  you,  no  matter  how 
small  the  fire,  or  how  harmless  it  may  appear.  It 
is  always  dangerous  until  extinguished.  If  part  of 
a  fence  should  accidentally  be  burned,  or  destroyed 
from  any  cause,  the  damage  should  be  reported  at 
once,  giving  a  correct  list  of  the  property  destroyed 
and  location  of  same,  so  that  material  to  repair  the 
damage  can  be  sent  there  promptly. 

Rails  of  different  heights.  All  rails  of  different 
heights,  where  they  meet  at  a  joint,  should  be  con- 
nected with  a  step  splice  if  a  proper  form  of  step 
joint  is  not  used,  and  an  iron  shim  should  be  put 
under  the  base  of  the  low  rail  to  give  an  equal  bear- 
ing with  the  high  rail.  The  iron  shim  should  have 
slots  punched  in  its  sides  so  that  spikes  can  be  driven 
to  keep  it  secured  in  place.  Instead  of  the  splice  it 
is  better  to  use  a  proper  form  of  improved  compromise 
joint. 

Switch  stands.  All  switch  stand  targets  should 
show  green,  when  locked  on  the  main  track,  also  on 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  339 

all  tracks  running  parallel  to  the  main  track,  when 
connected  at  both  ends.  The  switch  target  should 
show  the  red  signal  for  an  open  switch  when  thrown 
for  a  spur  track,  and  the  switch  should  be  thrown 
back  to  position  on  the  through  track,  and  kept 
locked,  except  when  the  spur  track  is  in  use. 

Absence  from  duty.  Track  foremen  should  never 
be  absent  from  duty,  unless  by  permission,  except  in 
case  of  sickness  or  from  some  other  unavoidable  cause, 
in  which  case  the  roadmasfer  or  superior  should  be 
notified  immediately. 

Emergency  rails.  It  is  good  policy  to  have  repair 
rails  placed  at  convenient  distances,  one  or  two  miles 
apart,  along  the  section  where  they  can  be  easily 
reached.  These  raik  can  be  used  in  case  of  emergency 
to  replace  a  broken  rail  in  the  track,  and  the  splices 
will  also  be  handy  to  replace  broken  ones,  without  the 
necessity  of  going  perhaps  several  miles  through  snow- 
drifts back  to  the  station  for  the  material  wanted.  To 
prevent  the  rails  or  splices  from  being  covered  with 
snow,  they  should  be  secured  on  posts  set  with  their 
tops  two  or  three  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

The  condition  of  the  rails  as  to  wear  should  decide 
the  number  of  emergency  rails  to  be  distributed  along 
the  track.  Where  the  rails  in  the  track  are  badly 
worn  and  broken  rails  are  common  the  number  of 
emergency  rails  should  be  greater  than  where  the 
track  is  newly  laid  and  the  rails  not  much  worn. 

Working  new  men.  If  it  is  necessary  to  work  new 
men  on  your  section,  w^io  have  never  worked  on  track 
before,  do  not  lose  your  patience  if  they  are  a  little 
awkward  in  doing  the  work.  If  you  can  do  so,  pair 
these  men  with  older  hands.  Take  a  little  trouble 
to  show  them  how  you  want  the  work  done,  in  a  man- 
ner that  will  give  them  confidence,  and  in  most  cases 
you  will  accomplish  more  good  than  by  using  the 
blow-and-bluster  method  so  common  with  some  fore- 


340  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

men.  Eemember  that  you  needed  instructions  once 
yourself. 

Get  acquainted  with  your  section.  Every  section 
foreman,  as  soon  as  he  has  been  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  a  section,  should  make  himself  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  every  part  of  the  piece  of  road  in 
his  charge.  Get  the  numbers  of  all  the  bridges  and 
culverts  on  your  section,  and  their  distances  from 
the  station  north,  south,  east  or  west.  Get  the  brand 
of  iron  or  steel,  and  if  it  is  of  different  makes  get 
the  amount  of  each,  and  find  when  it  was  laid,  also 
the  length  and  kind  of  rails  in  your  side  tracks,  num- 
ber of  panels  of  snow  fence  on  your  section,  height 
of  bridges  from  the  ground,  number  of  public  cross- 
ings, signs,  etc.  Keep  this  account  where  it  will  be 
handy  to  refer  to  at  any  time,  and  keep  it  corrected 
from  time  to  time.  By  doing  this  you  will  be  able 
to  answer  any  questions  asked  by  officials  of  the  road 
about  any  part  of  your  section,  and  in  case  of  a  wreck 
or  washout  you  will  be  able  to  locate  the  place  at  a 
moment's  notice,  and  give  a  close  estimate  of  the  kind 
and  amount  of  material  necessary  for  repairs,  in  case 
of  damage  to  track.  Keep  the  information  in  your 
pocket.     Your  head  won't  hold  it  all. 

Making  reports.  Find  out  the  correct  way  of  keep- 
ing your  time  and  filling  out  any  other  reports  that 
you  have  to  send  in  and  make  them  out  as  directed. 
You  may  have  a  printed  form  of  some  kind  to  fill  out. 
Answer  what  is  asked  in  the  headings. 

Extra  men.  When  you  are  about  to  have  an  extra 
force  of  men,  larger  than  you  have  been  accustomed 
to  working,  take  a  little  time  to  plan  how  you  will 
distribute  the  men  to  accomplish  the  most  good.  Or- 
ganization is  the  main  factor  in  handling  the  work. 

Clear  water  passages.  No  vegetable  matter,  grass, 
etc.,  should  ever  be  allowed  to  accumulate  under 
bridges  or  near  the  mouths  of  culverts,  or  any  other 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  341 

material  that  would  be  likely  to  catch  fire  easily,  or 
stop  the  passage  of  water. 

Neat  stations.  Section  foremen  should  keep  the 
station  grounds  clean  and  neat,  and  all  track  material 
should  be  piled  up  in  several  lots.  There  should  be 
no  disorder;  there  should  be  a  place  for  everything, 
and  everything  in  its  place.  All  of  the  station 
grounds  not  occupied  by  tracks  or  covered  with  ballast, 
should  be  allowed  to  grow  up  in  tame  grasses.  Such 
plots  should  be  kept  nicely  trimmed  around  the  sides 
and  ends,  with  a  view  to  having  them  of  a  regular  form, 
and  they  should  be  lined  parallel  with  adjoining  tracks. 
No  rubbish  of  any  kind  should  ever  be  allowed  to  ac- 
cumulate upon  tracks,  or  on  the  ground  close  to  build- 
ings. It  should  be  taken  away  and  dumped  into  places 
that  need  filling.  Section  foremen  should  not  spend 
too  much  time  working  around  the  station,  but  do  what 
is  required  there  when  other  track  work  is  not  press- 
ing, or  when  the  weather  or  extra  jobs  interfere  and 
take  up  so  much  of  the  day  that  it  would  not  pay  to 
go  out  on  the  section. 

Look  over  the  yard.  Yard  foremen  should  have  a 
reliable  man  as  trackwalker  to  examine  all  important 
switches  daily.  If  his  time  will  permit  he  should  also 
look  after  and  attend  to  keys  in  switch  rods,  to  frog 
and  guard  rail  bolts,  and  if  the  yards  be  small  he  may 
also  remove  cinders  from  the  tracks  and  attend  to 
switch  lamps ;  \  but  it  is  a  mistake  to  put  too  much 
work  on  the  trackwalker,  as  it  has  a  tendency  to  make 
him  hurry  over  the  yard  and  not  give  it  a  careful  in- 
spection. 

Bent  splices.  When  a  foreman  receives  old  steel 
rails  for  repairs  he  should  always  examine  the  splices, 
especially  angle  bar  splices,  and  if  they  are  bent  in 
the  center  he  should  not  use  them  again  without 
straightening  them. 

Lining  disconnected  track.     Foremen  when  lining 


342  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

track  that  has  been  washed  out,  or  that  has  been  dis- 
connected at  one  end  should  never  commence  lining 
from  the  disconnected  end.  Always  commence  to  line 
track  from  the  end  that  is  connected,  and  nearest  to 
line,  and  work  towards  the  end  that  is  disconnected, 
and  when  you  have  moved  it  once,  begin  to  line  as 
before. 

Some  foremen  with  large  gangs  of  men  spend  sev- 
eral hours  of  valuable  time  at  a  washout,  in  a  fruit- 
less attemjit  to  bring  into  line  the  tail  end  of  a  piece 
of  track,  and  when  the  men  can  not  throw  it,  cut  it 
into  rail  lengths  and  carry  into  place.  This  may  be 
avoided  if  track  has  been  lined  in  the  way  stated 
above. 

Ordering  tools  or  material.  Track  foremen,  when 
ordering  tools  or  material  for  use  on  the  track  in  their 
charge,  should  not  make  requisition  for  more  than  the 
amount  necessary  of  either  kind.  A  surplus  of  tools 
or  track  material  on  hand,  which  there  is  no  prospect 
of  putting  in  service  soon,  represents  their  value  in 
cash  lying  idle  or  going  to  waste. 

Keep  men's  time  correctly.  It  is  a  notable  fact 
that  the  best  track  foremen  keep  the  time  of  their  men 
and  other  accounts  correctly,  and  do  everything,  as 
the  saying  goes,  "in  ship  shape,"  while  the  reverse 
can  only  be  said  of  foremen  who  are  careless  or  slov- 
enl}^  The  want  of  an  education  is  only  an  excuse, 
and  a  foreman,  by  devoting  a  little  of  his  time  eve- 
nings to  study,  can  soon  write  a  good  hand,  and  learn 
enough  of  figures  to  do  all  that  is  required  of  him 
while  in  the  position  of  track  foreman. 

Duplicate  time  books.  All  track  foremen  should 
carry  with  them  a  duplicate  time  book,  and  note  on 
the  same  day  any  loss  of  time,  or  time  earned  by  any 
of  the  men  working  under  them.  Keep  a  journal  of 
the  work  performed  by  them  each  day,  always  charg- 
ing the  proper  number  of  days'  labor  done  by  each 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  343 

of  them  at  each  separate  kind  of  work.  This  record 
of  time  and  work  performed  should  be  transferred  at 
the  end  of  each  day  to  the;  regular  time  book  and 
journal  of  work,  which  is  sent  to  headquarters  at  the 
end  of  each  month.  oliit  laveu  b- 

By  following  above  instruetionsy^k -foreman  will 
avoid  making  any  mistakes,  and  will  also  be  able  to 
refer  back  to  the  time  of  his  men,  the  kind  of  work 
done,  and  date  of  same,  whenever  called  upon  for  in- 
formation b}^  his  superior  officers. 

Track  material  account.  When  foremen  receive 
track  material  of  any  kind,  and  it  is  loaded  on  cars  or 
unloaded  from  cars  by  them,  they- should  check  over 
everything  carefully  and  count  the  pieces,  number  of 
rails,  ties,  etc. ;  also  note  the  brand  or  quality  of  the 
same,  and  take  the  number  of  the  car.  Keep  this  with 
your  other  accounts,  no  matter  whether  you  have  or- 
ders to  do  so  or  not,  as  you  may  be  asked  to  give  in- 
formation on  the  subject  later  on. 

Printed  forms.  Track  foremen  should  read  and 
thoroughly  understand  the  printed  instructions  on  all 
blank  forms  which  the  railroad  company  requires  them 
to  use,  when  making  their  reports.  Many  foremen 
are  too  careless  in  this  matter,  often  omitting  to  put 
down  the  answers  to  printed  questions  which  it  is  al- 
most impossible  for  them  to  miss  seeing  when  filling 
out  the  form.  Occasionally  a  foreman  will  put  on 
his  work  journal  the  number  of  ties  received  during 
the  month,  and  at  the  same  time  fail  to  give  the  num- 
ber of  ties  used  during  the  month,  or  the  number 
on  hand,  while  the  latter  questions  are  there  on  the 
journal,  as  well  as  the  question,  ''How  many  ties  re- 
ceived?" Then  the  roadmaster  must  write  him  a  let- 
ter a  second  time  and  tell  him  what  he  should  do  and 
wait  for  an  answer.  It  is  just  likely  that  the  fore- 
man spoken  of  above  will  be  changing  a  rail  in  a  side 
track,  or  doing  some  other  kind  of  work,  which  could 


344  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

be  put  off  or  delayed  without  dauger  for  a  week  or 
two,  when  at  that  time  he  should  have  been  examin- 
ing his  track  after  a  heavy  storm. 

He  has  carried  a  time  card  in  his  pocket  for  months 
perhaps,  and  never  informed  himself  that  there  was 
a  rule  on  that  time  card  which  required  himself  and 
men  to  be  out  and  examine  the  track  on  his  section 
in  stormy  weather.  Foremen  of  the  kind  mentioned 
do  not  hold  a  position  long  under  any  roadmaster,  be- 
cause they  are  not  reliable ;  they  need  to  be  watched 
too  closely  and  instructed  too  often  in  their  duties. 

Section  foremen's  reports.  There  is  hardly  a  sin- 
gle railway  company  now  in  this  country  which  does 
not  furnish  its  foremen  printed  blanks  for  whatever 
reports  they  may  be  called  upon  to  make.  These 
blanks  are  generally  made  as  simple  as  consistent  with 
the  nature  of  the  report,  and  the  foreman  should 
study  carefully  the  headings  and  printed  instructions 
which  will  enable  him  to  fill  them  out  properly.  It 
is  most  important  that  such  statements  are  made  at 
the  proper  time,  that  all  entries  are  strictly  correct 
and  that  they  are  made  as  concise  as  possible  and  in 
a  legible  manner.  When  such  reports  are  completed 
they  should  be  mailed  to  the  proper  officer.  In  re- 
gard to  monthly  statements  of  tools  and  materials  re- 
ceived and  used,  foremen  will  find  it  greatly  to  their 
interest  if  they  retain  a  copy  of  whatever  they  re- 
ported on  hand  the  last  of  the  month,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  fill  the  report  for  the  succeeding  month  correctl3^ 
In  fact,  it  is  advisable  that  each  foreman  keep  a  little 
book  wherein  he  can  note  down  all  items  of  interest 
occurring  on  his  section  pertaining  to  the  operation 
of  the  road.  Such  memoranda  have  often  proven  to 
be  of  great  value  to  railway  companies ;  besides  that, 
it  enables  foremen  to  make  out  duplicate  reports  in 
case  the  original  has  been  lost  or  destroyed.  Better 
still,  keep  a  carbon  copy  of  all  reports  sent  in. 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  345 

Shipping  track  tools.  Track  foremen,  when  ship- 
ping tools  or  sending  them  to  the  repair  shop,  should 
always  be  particular  to  secure  them  in  a  neat  package, 
so  that  it  would  not  be  possible  for  any  of  them  to 
become  separated  or  lost  while  in  transit.  The  name 
and  address  of  the  person  to  whom  sent  should  be  writ- 
ten plainly  on  the  face  of  the  shipping  tag;  on  the 
back  of  the  same  tag  the  foreman  should  write  his 
own  name  and  address,  together  with  a  request  that 
the  tools  be  returned  to  him  when  repaired. 

A  very  convenient  arrangement  for  securing  tools 
together  when  shipping  them,  may  be  made  by  run- 
ning a  piece  of  chain  through  the  tools  or  around 
them,  and  locking  with  a  spring  key  after  passing  one 
of  the  end  links  through  one  of  the  other  links  of  the 
chain.  The  key  should  be  flat  and  just  wide  enough 
to  fit  the  links  in  the  manner  mentioned.  Soft  wire  is 
superior  to  twine  for  securing  tools  or  for  tagging 
them. 

Distance  to  set  out  danger  signals.  Danger  signals 
should  be  set  out  a  distance  of  not  less  than  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  both  directions  from  the  point 
where  the  track  is  impassable  for  trains.  This  dis- 
tance can  be  measured  by  counting  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thirty-three-foot  rail  lengths,  in  the  di- 
rection you  are  going  to  set  out  the  signals ;  or  when 
the  telegraph  poles  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
apart,  the  signals  may  be  set  out  twenty-six  tele- 
graph poles  distant  each  way  from  the  point  of  dan- 
ger. 

When  flagging  at  obscure  places,  or  in  the  vicinity 
of  descending  grades,  where  it  is  diiflcult  to  stop  a 
train,  the  distance  to  set  signals  must  be  increased  and 
the  telegraph  operator  at  the  next  station  should  be 
informed,  so  that  trains  can  be  held  until  track  is 
cleared  and  safe  for  their  passage.  The  flagmen 
should  remain  out  with  the  signals  until  the  track  is 


34G  THE  TRACKAIAN'S  HELPER 

repaired.  When  the  track  has  been  repaired,  and 
made  safe  for  trains,  the  flags,  torpedoes,  or  other 
signals  should  be  removed  immediately.  Of  course  all 
flagging  should  be  done  under  the  rules  prescribed  by 
the  railroad  company  by  which  employed.  This  re- 
mark also  applies  to  all  other  work  also. 

Always  keep  signals  with  you.  A  track  foreman 
should  always  keep  on  his  hand  car,  ready  for  instant 
use,  a  full  supply  of  torpedoes,  red  flags,  or  red  lan- 
terns, so  that  if  any  accident  should  render  the  track 
unsafe  for  the  passage  of  trains,  he  would  be  prepared 
to  protect  them  promptly.  Flagmen  sent  out  to  pa- 
trol the  track  should  not  be  allowed  to  proceed  with- 
out having  all  the  necessary  signals  to  stop  trains. 
The  foreman  should  instruct  them  thoroughly  in  their 
duties,  as  he  is  responsible  for  them. 

The  first  duty  of  a  track  foreman  when  he  finds 
a  dangerous  place  in  the  track,  no  matter  whether  it  is 
on  his  section  or  not,  is  to  set  out  stop  signals  at  once ; 
he  should  then  go  in  the  direction  from  which  the 
next  train  is  expected  and  report  the  trouble  at  the 
nearest  telegraph  office. 

Time  cards  and  rules.  A  track  foreman  should 
keep  well  posted  on  the  time  of  all  regular  trains  pass- 
ing over  his  section.  Read  over  all  the  rules  on  the 
time  card  every  time  a  new  card  is  issued  on  j^our 
road. 

Look  out  for  signals.  Foremen  should  always  look 
for  signals  on  all  passing  trains.  Another  section  of 
the  same  train  which  has  passed,  or  a  special,  may  be 
following  close  behind.  The  track  foreman  and  his 
men  should  be  fully  informed,  and  keep  well  posted  as 
to  the  meaning  of  all  signals  displayed  on  passing 
trains. 

Replace  signals.  Trackmen  finding  danger  signals 
along  the  track  should  leave  them  in  the  same  position 
as  found,  and  if  the  signals  are  injured  so  as  to  be 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  347 

unsafe,  they  should  be  replaced  by  good  signals  of 
the  same  kind,  or  a  man  should  be  left  to  guard  the 
point.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  track  foreman,  if  he  find 
danger  signals,  to  go  forward  and  ascertain  their 
cause,  and  to  give  assistance  with  his  men,  if  the  train- 
men require  their  services. 

Injured  signals.  All  sign  signals  placed  along  the 
track  for  the  guidance  of  trackmen  or  others  (when 
injured  or  broken),  should  be  repaired  at  once,  and 
placed  in  position  by  the  trackmen;  and  if  they  are 
destroyed  or  rendered  useless,  the  foreman  should  at 
once  make  requisition  for  new  ones. 

Comply  with  the  rules.  Section  foremen  or  others 
should  use  all  signals  strictly  in  compliance  with  the 
rules  of  the  road  governing  their  use.  Never  set  out 
a  danger  signal  at  a  shorter  distance  than  that  which 
is  specified  in  the  rules  of  the  road  as  correct,  because 
a  serious  accident  may  be  the  result,  if  a  train  cannot 
be  stopped  in  time. 

Location  of  whistling  posts  and  signs.  Whistling 
posts  for  highway  crossings  should  be  set  one-fourth 
of  a  mile  from  the  crossing,  on  the  engineman's  side 
of  the  track.  Whistling  posts  or  signs  of  any  descrip- 
tion should  never  be  placed  in  a  cut  if  it  is  possible 
to  avoid  it.  It  is  always  better  to  increase  or  diminish 
the  distance  to  get  them  out  of  the  cut.  The  distance 
should  always  be  increased  where  there  is  a  down 
grade,  or  when  the  law  requires  certain  signs  to  be 
placed  a  specified  number  of  feet  or  rods.  This  rule 
should  also  apply  on  sharp  curves. 

Posts  and  signs  should  be  set  firmly  in  the  ground, 
and  ordinarily  so  far  from  the  track  that  if  knocked 
down  or  blown  over,  they  will  not  fall  upon  it.  Nevei^ 
set  any  signs  in  a  leaning  or  twisted  position.  High- 
way crossing  signs  should  be  set  far  enough  away 
from  the  center  of  the  wagon  road,  so  that  wagons 
loaded  with  bulky  material,  such  as  hay  or  straw, 


348  THE  TRACKJMAX'S  HELPER 

cannot  strike  the  sign  post  or  the  cross  arm  at  the 
top  of  it. 

Disregard  of  danger  signals.  Section  foremen 
should  report  promptly  any  failure  on  the  part  of 
trainmen  to  honor  danger  signals  set  out  by  himself 
or  his  men.  If  an  engineer  run  at  high  speed  past 
the  point  for  which  you  have  set  out  a  slow  flag,  or 
if  a  train  run  past  a  dangerous  place  before  stopping, 
for  which  you  have  set  out  the  necessary  stop  sig- 
nals, you  must  report  all  the  facts  without  delay,  giv- 
ing the  engine  and  train  number,  and  the  time  they 
passed  the  place  where  you  were  working.  Foremen 
should  not  overlook  any  neglect  of  duty  by  the  train- 
men in  this  matter.  Always  remember  that  the  safety 
of  trains  and  the  lives  of  passengers  and  employes  de- 
pend in  a  great  measure  upon  a  strict  compliance  with 
the  company's  rules. 

Look  out  for  trains.  Section  foremen  should  al- 
ways keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  trains  while  working 
on  track,  while  using  hand  cars,  or  while  transferring 
material  from  one  track  to  another  on  cars.  Never 
trust  too  much  in  this  matter  to  the  men,  as  they  are 
not  held  responsible  for  accidents.  To  be  on  the  safe 
side,  a  foreman  should  always  be  expecting  a  train; 
he  will  then  be  prepared  for  all  extra  trains  or  spe- 
cials, of  which  he  has  no  previous  notice. 

Always  be  prepared.  Whenever  it  is  necessary  for 
a  foreman  to  go  to  a  wreck  or  washout,  or  to  assist 
at  any  kind  of  work  which  calls  him  away  from  his 
own  regular  work,  he  should  be  prepared,  having  lan- 
terns ready  to  light,  tools  all  on  the  car,  tape  line  in 
his  pocket,  etc.  Don't  start  out  half  equipped  with 
tools.  When  you  find  a  place  to  fix  up  or  repair,  and 
there  is  need  of  tools  which  vou  have  not  with  vou, 
you  will  have  to  send  after  them,  perhaps  delaying 
trains  for  an  hour  or  more  because  of  your  careless- 
ness.    Don 't  go  out  on  the  track  and  discover  a  broken 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  349 

rail,  and  at  the  same  time  find  that  everything  neces- 
sary for  repairing  it  is  on  hand  except  chisels,  and 
they  are  at  your  tool  house,  seven  or  eight  miles  away. 
A  foreman  who  is  careless  in  these  matters  is  generally 
so  in  everything  else  he  does,  although  he  may  hold 
his  position  for  a  time.  The  roadmaster  or  supervisor 
has  him  marked  down  as  poor  material,  and  will 
always  remove  him  as  soon  as  he  can  put  a  better  man 
in  his  place. 

Hand  car  and  tool  houses.  The  hand  car  and  tool 
houses  should  be  kept  outside  the  switches  at  yards, 
or  wherever  is  the  most  convenient  place.  They  should 
be  located  so  that  the  men  can  get  to  and  from  work 
without  being  delayed  by  trains  standing  on  the  tracks. 
Tool  and  hand  car  houses  and  track  supplies  of  any 
kind  should  always  be  placed  at  a  sufficient  distance 
from  the  track  not  to  obstruct  the  view  of  the  train- 
men or  be  likely  in  case  of  accident  to  fall  on  or  near 
the  track. 

Telegraph  office  report.  When  a  section  foreman 's 
headquarters  are  located  at  a  station,  he  should  report 
at  the  telegraph  office  for  orders  and  inquire  for 
messages  before  going  out  to  work  every  morn- 
ing and  immediately  after  working  hours  in  the 
evening. 

Removing  hand  cars  from  crossings.  No  material 
of  any  kind  should  ever  be  piled  or  placed  on  a  high- 
way where  it  crosses  the  track.  Section  foremen  or 
others  should  never  take  off  their  hand  or  push  cars 
and  leave  them  on  the  highway  or  private  wagon  cross- 
ings unless  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  do  so  to  get 
out  of  the  way  of  a  passing  train.  The  car  should 
then  be  immediately  put  back  on  the  track  and  re- 
moved to  a  proper  distance  from  the  highway.  Sec- 
tion foremen  should  provide  places  along  their  sec- 
tions, at  convenient  distances  not  less  than  100  feet 
from  highways  or  crossings,  where  they  can  take  off 


350  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

their  hand  or  push  cars,  and  leave  them  when  neces- 
sary. Obstructing  highways  by  leaving  thereon  track 
material,  hand  cars,  etc.,  has  been  the  cause  of  nu- 
merous accidents  and  claims  for  damages  against  rail- 
road companies. 

Throwing  switches.  Track  foremen  should  not  be 
in  the  habit  of  throwing  switches  for  trivial  reasons. 
Although  it  is  the  custom  on  most  railroads  to  allow 
section  foremen  to  carry  a  switch  key,  they  should 
not  abuse  this  right  by  unlocking  and  throwing 
switches  to  move  a  hand  or  push  car  without  a  load 
from  one  track  to  another,  or  to  accommodate  train- 
men who  should  do  this  work  themselves.  Hand  cars 
and  push  cars,  with  a  light  load,  can  as  well  be  moved 
from  one  track  to  another,  where  the  rails  come  close 
together,  without  throwing  the  switch.  Men  employed 
on  the  section  should  not  be  trusted  to  throw  a 
switch,  except  in  the  presence  of  the  foreman.  When 
a  switch  has  been  thrown  on  a  side  track,  the  person 
throwing  it  should  not  leave  it  until  after  throwing 
the  switch  back  again  for  the  main  track  and  lock- 
ing it. 

Any  foreman  who  would  throw,  or  allow  others  to 
throw  a  switch  from  the  main  track,  and  leave  it  in 
that  position  while  performing  a  piece  of  work,  or 
until  it  suited  his  convenience  to  throw  it  back,  should 
be  discharged;  and  he  would  be  criminally  liable  if 
any  accident  should  happen  through  his  carelessness. 
Those  intrusted  with  the  operation  of  switches  cannot 
be  too  careful. 

Leaving  hand  cars  on  track.  Some  track  foremen 
have  a  habit  of  leaving  hand  or  push  cars  on  the  track, 
while  cutting  weeds  or  doing  other  work  which  re- 
quires frequent  moving  from  place  to  place.  This 
should  not  be  done.  The  main  track  should  be  kept 
clear  at  all  times,  except  when  trackmen  must  occupy 
it  to  do  necessary  repairs ;  at  such  times  or  when  mov- 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  351 

ing  loads  of  material  on  cars,  foremen  should  protect 
themselves  with  proper  danger  signals. 

Foremen  should  not  leave  hand  cars  on  side  tracks 
as  they  are  likely  to  be  smashed  by  trains  switching, 
and  cause  a  wreck  at  the  same  time. 

Loaning  tools,  cars,  etc.  Track  foremen  should 
never  loan  to  persons  outside  of  the  company's  service 
any  tools,  hand  car,  velocipede  car,  push  car,  or  track 
material  of  any  kind  which  is  intrusted  to  their  care, 
without  permission  of  their  superior  officers.  Fore- 
men themselves  or  their  'men  should  not  use  hand 
cars,  velocipede  cars,  etc.,  on  the  track  outside  of  regu- 
lar working  hours,  unless  in  the  company's  service, 
or  with  permission. 

Foremen  who  adhere  strictly  to  this  rule  are  very 
seldom  requested  by  outside  parties  to  grant  them  any 
privileges,  and  thereby  save  themselves  annoyance. 
Track  foremen  should  remember  that  company  mate- 
rial of  any  kind,  no  matter  how  valueless  it  may  ap- 
pear to  them,  is  still  the  company's  property;  and 
that  they  have  no  right  to  appropriate  it  for  their 
own  use,  or  to  sell  it  to  others,  without  authority  from 
their  superior  officers. 

Different  varieties  of  ties.  On  a  railroad  where 
different  varieties  of  ties  are  used  in  the  track,  the 
softer  kind  of  wood  should  be  used  in  straight  track, 
and  the  hard  wood  ties  should  be  used  in  the  curves, 
and  in  sags  between  heavy  grades  where  the  speed  of 
trains  is  very  fast.  If  hard  wood  ties  can  be  procured 
for  curve  track  they  should  not  be  mixed  with  soft 
wood  ties  in  the  same  track,  because  the  rails  will  in 
the  course  of  time  cut  a  bed  in  the  soft  wood  ties,  and 
thereby  affect  the  surface  of  the  track.  The  ends  of 
bridges  and  under  switches  are  also  good  places  to 
use  hard  wood  ties,  where  they  can  be  furnished  for 
that  purpose.  "White  cedar  is  the  best  soft  wood  tie; 
white  oak  the  best  hard  wood  tie. 


352  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

The  place  for  tools.  Foremen  should  bring  home 
every  night  and  put  in  the  tool  house  all  tools  which 
they  have  been  using  on  the  track  during  the  day. 
Never  leave  tools  out  on  the  section.  Unscrupulous 
persons  who  live  near  the  track  or  who  may  pass  along 
the  track  are  Yery  apt  to  appropriate  any  tools  which 
they  find.  Any  loss  of  track  tools  should  be  reported 
by  foremen. 

Cutting  rails.  "Whenever  it  is  necessary  to  cut  steel 
rails,  track  foremen  should  instruct  the  men  how  to 
do  it  properl}'.  All  steel  rails  should  be  cut  as  ac- 
curately as  possible  as  to  length,  and  allowance  for 
expansion  should  be  deducted  from  the  length  of  the 
rail.  No  careless  work  should  ever  be  allowed,  such 
as  cutting  the  rail  short  of  the  proper  length. 

The  line  of  the  chisel  cut  around  the  rail  should  be 
continuous  and  square  across  the  rail.  Iron  rails,  as 
a  general  rule,  need  to  be  cut  deeper  than  steel  before 
they  will  break  off.  Hard  steel,  if  cut  deep,  is  likely 
to  break  off  on  either  side  of  the  cut,  leaving  a  bad, 
unshapely  end  on  the  rail.  To  break  off  a  rail  at  the 
cut,  lift  up  the  rail  at  the  end  nearest  to  the  cut,  and 
let  the  cut  place  fall  over  a  piece  of  rail  or  angle  bars 
laid  on  a  tie,  or  something  solid.  Short  pieces  to 
be  cut  from  rails  may  be  broken  off  with  the  sledge. 
When  cutting  rails  trackmen  should  not  use  a  spike 
maul  to  strike  the  chisel,  because  this  destroys  the 
face  of  the  spike  maul,  and  splits  pieces  from  the 
heads  of  steel  tools,  making  them  worthless  in  a  short 
time.  A  good  sledge  for  striking  hard  steel  tools 
should  be  one  of  the  tools  on  every  section,  and  should 
be  taken  in  preference  to  any  other  tool  of  the  kind 
whenever  necessity  requires  its  use. 

Ballast  in  yards.  The  yard  track  at  all  stations  in- 
side the  switches  should  be  dressed  off  level  with  the 
tops  of  the  ties,  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  track 
rails.    When   there   is   enough   ballast   the   shoulder 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS 


353 


should  be  level  and  of  sufficient  width  to  allow  train- 
men or  passengers  room  to  walk  along  outside  the 
ties.     Where  yard  tracks  are  close  together  no  rub- 


Fig.  82.     Portable    Rail    Saw 

bish  or  obstructions  of  any  kind  should  be  placed  on 
the  space  between  them  or  allowed  to  remain  there. 

Execute  orders  promptly.     When  the  foreman  re- 
ceives an  order  to  do  any  special  piece  of  work,  he 


354  THE  TRACiaiAN'S  HELPER 

should  do  it  at  once  and  finish  it  up  in  the  manner 
in  which  he  is  instructed.  It  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance that  track  foremen  adhere  strictly  to  this 
rule.  Never  let  work  wait  to  suit  your  convenience, 
nor  do  any  work  in  a  way  contrary  to  that  -in  which 
you  are  ordered  to  do  it. 

Protection  against  fires.*  In  the  fall  of  the  year 
when  the  weeds  and  grass  along  the  right  of  way  have 
become  dead  and  dry,  section  foremen  should  take 
every  precaution  to  protect  the  company's  property, 
and  that  of  persons  living  near  the  track,  from  dam- 
age by  fire.  Fire  started  by  sparks  from  locomotives, 
or  from  other  unknown  sources  should  be  looked  after 
at  once  and  extinguished.  Do  not  cease  your  efforts 
until  you  are  sure  all  danger  is  past.  All  wooden 
structures,  bridges,  culverts,  etc.,  should  be  examined 
as  often  as  you  pass  them  and  any  combustible  matter 
which  may  be  close  to  the  timbers  should  be  removed. 
Be  particular,  when  burning  rubbish  or  grass  along 
the  right  of  way,  always  to  work  with  a  favorable 
wind.  Run  no  risks,  and  if  vou  see  a  doubtful  smoke 
along  the  track,  take  your  men,  go  to  it  at  once,  and 
find  out  what  has  caused  it. 

Report  stock  killed.  All  stock  killed  or  injured, 
and  found  lying  on  the  right  of  way  by  the  foreman, 
should  be  reported  promptly  to  headquarters.  Sec- 
tion foremen  should  always  report  the  stock  killed  or 
injured.  It  is  the  duty  of  foremen  to  make  an  ex- 
amination of  the  body  of  the  animal  found,  find  the 
owner  if  possible,  and  get  the  age  and  cash  value  of 
the  animal.  If  it  was  struck  by  a  train,  give  engine 
number,  train  number  and  time  of  the  accident,  if 
you  know  it.  In  your  report  give  all  other  informa- 
tion which  is  likely  to  be  of  any  value  to  the  company 
you  are  working  for.  If  the  owner  of  a  dead  animal 
does  not  remove  it  from  the  right  of  way,  the  section 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  355 

foreman  should  take  his  men  and  bury  the  carcass 
after  investigating  the  cause  of  accident,  etc. 

Foremen  have  no  right  to  appropriate  to  their  own 
use  (or  to  allow  others  to  do  so)  the  carcass  or  hide 
of  any  animal  killed  along  the  track. 

Damage  by  fire.  When  property  along  the  right  of 
way  has  been  destroyed  or  damaged  by  fire,  the  sec- 
tion foreman  should  go  to  such  place  at  once,  examine 
the  ground  thoroughly,  measure  the  dista-nce  from  the 
center  of  the  track  to  where  the  fire  started,  find  the 
value  of  the  property  destroyed,  make  out  an  itemized 
estimate  in  his  report ;  and  also  state  the  direction  of 
the  wind  when  the  fire  was  burning,  and  give  a  true 
account  of  everything  as  far  as  he  knows.  Do  not 
accopt  the  statements  of  others  unless  you  know  them 
to  be  correct. 

Be  careful  of  material.  When  a  track  foreman  lays 
or  extends  a  piece  of  track,  as  soon  as  he  has  finished 
the  job  he  should  have  every  loose  spike,  bolt,  splice, 
etc.,  picked  up  and  taken  care  of.  Track  material  ly- 
ing around  where  a  gang  of  men  has  been  working  is 
very  good  evidence  that  the  foreman  is  careless  about 
his  work  and  wasteful  of  the  company's  property. 

Never  allow  old  iron  taken  out  of  track,  old  ties, 
broken  brakes,  and  scrap,  etc.,  to  accumulate  on  your 
section.  They  should  be  taken  to  the  station  or  placed 
in  regular  scrap,,  bins  or  at  platforms  where  it  will  be 
handy  to  load  for  shipment  later. 

Do  first  what  needs  to  be  done.  A  track  foreman 
should  always  have  his  work  planned  ahead.  By  giv- 
ing close  attention  to  the  track,  as  he  passes  over  it 
daily  each  way,  a  foreman  will  always  be  able  to  see 
what  needs  to  be  repaired  most,  and  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  here  that  such  work  should  be  done  at 
once.  Do  not  ride  over  the  same  low  n'oiwt  every 
day,  a  joint  one-half  inch  out  of  gage  or  line,  or  pass 


356  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

the  same  broken  joint  tie  or  bolt  hanging  loose  in  the 
splices,  expecting  to  fix  such  places  the  next  week  or 
waiting  until  the  roadmaster  calls  your  attention  to 
these  things.  The  longer  you  wait  the  more  these  lit- 
tle odd  jobs  increase  in  number,  and  at  about  the 
time  you  have  set  to  do  them  you  are  called  off  to 
some  other  place.  The  work  still  increases  during 
your  absence,  and  in  this  manner  things  go  on  the 
year  round. .  You  are  always  behind,  always  wor- 
ried ;  you  think  the  roadmaster  hard  because  he  urges 
you  to  hurry;  you  make  excuses  for  yourself,  as  for 
instance,  that  you  were  putting  up  a  nice  piece  of 
track  somewhere  else  on  the  section.  Alwavs  remem- 
ber  that  if  you  had  ten  miles  of  the  best  track  in  the 
country,  all  good  track  except  one  rail  length,  and 
that  rail  dangerous,  the  balance  of  your  section,  no 
matter  how  good,  would  not  save  a  train  from  get- 
ting wrecked,  nor  you  from  the  blame  that  would 
justly  fall  upon  you.  In  no  other  line  of  business 
does  the  old  saying  apply  Avith  greater  force  than  on 
a  railroad :  ' '  Never  put  off  till  to-morrow  what  should 
be  done  to-dav. " 

How  to  do  work.  Experience  will  teach  a  foreman 
that  the  secret  of  keeping  a  good  track  on  his  section 
lies  in  doing  all  work  well.  Slight  nothing.  Do  not 
surface  up  track  to  make  a  big  show  for  the  present, 
but  surface  it  as  fast  as  it  can  be  done  to  make  track 
that  will  remain  good  a  long  time.  Very  smooth 
track,  well  lined  and  gaged,  will  stay  good  sometimes 
for  years  without  much  repairing.  On  the  other 
hand,  track  that  might  be  called  good,  with  an  occa- 
sional slight  dip  in  the  surface,  if  there  is  much  traffic 
over  it,  will  soon  be  bad  track  because,  where  quar- 
ters or  joints  are  perhaps  only  one  quarter  of  an  inch 
low  after  the  track  is  surfaced,  the  weight  of  an  en- 
gine or  loaded  cars  strikes  such  low  places  with  great 
force,   and  gradually  increases  the  depression  until 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  357 

the  track  becomes  very  rough  and  dangerous.  If  not 
cared  for,  low  places  in  track  knock  out  of  gage  and 
line  besides  getting  low.  The  same  method  of  doing 
work  will  not  answer  always.  Foremen  should  adopt 
a  method  of  doing  work  that  will  give  the  best  results 
with  the  kind  of  material  furnished. 

If  there  is  only  dirt  for  ballast,  don't  always  be 
telling  what  good  track  you  could  have  with  gravel  or 
rock,  but  see  how  good  a  track  can  be  made  with 
dirt. 

Foremen  on  duty.  When  on  duty,  the  foreman 
should  always  be  with  his  men  and  assist  them  in  doing 
the  work.  It  is  his  duty  also  to  instruct  his  men  by 
word  and  example  as  to  the  proper  manner  of  per- 
forming all  the  different  kinds  of  work  in  which  they 
are  together  engaged. 

Adopt  the  best  method.  If  you  can  improve  on  the 
old  method  of  doing  any  kind  of  work,  when  you  are 
not  satisfied  with  the  results  of  a  trial  adopt  a  new 
plan.  When  you  do  any  kind  of  work  on  track,  and 
it  does  not  give  satisfaction,  always  try  to  find  the 
remedy  for  its  defects.  Do  not  say  it  can't  be  done, 
but  remember  that  a  man  who  finds  himself  in  a  diffi- 
cult position,  if  he  has  good  judgment  and  a  lively 
brain,  can  work  out  some  of  the  most  difficult  problems 
without  any  previous  knowledge  of  them.  Never  take 
a  slow  method  to  do  any  kind  of  work  that  you  can  do 
as  well  in  a  quicker  way.  Don 't  forget  that  the  world 
moves,  but  move  with  it.  Try  to  learn  something 
from  the  experience  of  others  who  are  successful  in 
the  same  business  as  yours.  A  trifle  of  time  gained 
soon  amounts  to  a  day,  month  or  year,  if  multiplied 
many  times. 

Take  for  instance  the  case  of  two  foremen  putting 
new  ties  in  the  track.  One  removes  all  the  dirt  or 
ballast  from  the  center  of  the  track  to  the  outside 
of  the  rails  in  order  to  get  a  number  of  ties  into 


358  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

track  at  once;  the  other  foreman  moves  the  material 
in  the  center  of  track  back  upon  the  new  ties  as  fast 
as  he  puts  in  two  or  three;  and  by  that  method  the 
latter  foreman  saves  himself  and  his  men  the  labor 
of  shoveling  many  yards  of  ballast  from  outside  the 
track  rails  to  fill  the  center  of  the  track.  To  bring 
a  section  of  track  up  to  anything  like  perfection, 
the  foreman  in  charge  of  it  must  look  closely  after  all 
the  work  in  its  minutest  details,  and  allow  nothing  to 
go  undone  which  would  contribute  towards  improv- 
ing the  track.  None  but  careless  foremen  will  line 
up  one  side  of  a  track  well  and  then  leave  it  without 
taking  the  kinks  out  of  the  other  side  at  the  same 
time.  A  careless  foreman  will  put  a  new  tie  into  track 
withoiTt  taking  up  to  surface  a  low  joint  close  to  it. 
He  will  cut  weeds  past  a  joint  with  a  bolt  broken  out 
of  it  without  putting  in  a  new  bolt.  He  will  make  a 
trip  over  the  section,  and  never  notice  a  break  in  a 
fence,  or  if  he  does  note  it,  will  wait  until  he  is  notified 
by  the  roadmaster  to  fix  it.  It  is  likely  that  you  will 
find  the  same  foreman  surfacing  a  piece  of  track  with- 
out using  a  spirit  level  on  it.  Such  a  man  is  not  fit 
to  make  a  good  laborer,  much  less  a  foreman ;  and  the 
piece  of  road  in  his  charge  will  soon  run  down  if  he  be 
not  discharged  and  replaced  by  a  foreman  who  has  a 
desire  to  improve  the  track  whenever  he  does  work  on 
it.  The  work  of  a  careless  foreman  puts  the  road- 
master  to  watching  him,  because  he  informs  on  himself 
every  day,  while  the  careful,  industrious  foreman 
makes  a  good,  permanent  job  wlierever  he  works,  and 
the  result  is  a  first-class  track  where  recentl}^  may  have 
been  a  very  rough  section. 

Work  train  service.  Trackmen  who  are  in  charge 
of  work  train  gangs  should  make  it  their  business  to 
keep  the  men  employed  whenever  the  train  is  delayed 
in  the  regular  work.  There  is  always  plenty  to  do 
along  the  track  at  any  point,    A  good  foreman  will 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  359 

have  his  work  laid  out  ahead  so  as  to  avoid  delays  ex- 
cept those  which  are  unavoidable. 

When  possible,  it  is  always  best  to  put  a  good  prac- 
tical workman  in  charge  of  a  gang  of  men  on  a  work 
train.  It  is  poor  economy  to  have  an  inexperienced 
trainman  in  charge  of  a  train  and  a  large  crew  of  men, 
as  is  often  the  case.  When  the  position  of  foreman 
over  the  men  and  conductor  of  the  work  train  is  held 
by  one  person,  the  preference  should  be  given  to  a 
trackman,  if  competent  to  run  the  train,  or  to  a  man 
who  has  had  some  experience  in  both  branches  of  the 
service. 

Source  of  responsibility.  Work  train  conductors 
and  foremen  of  gravel  pits,  or  of  steam  shovel  outfits, 
should  receive  their  working  orders  from,  and  be 
strictly  responsible  to  the  roadmaster  or  supervisor 
on  whatever  division  of  the  road  they  are  working  at 
the  time.  Work  train  conductors  should  report  daily 
on  blank  forms  furnished  for  that  purpose;  and,  if 
required,  they  should  also  report  to  the  division 
superintendent.  They  should  also  make  a  lay  up  re- 
port to  the  train  dispatcher  every  evening  after  quit- 
ting for  the  day,  and  inform  him  where  the  train  will 
work  the  following,  day. 

Work  trains  should  alwaj^s  lay  up  over  night  at  a 
telegraph  station./ 

Conductors  of  work  trains  should  see  that  the  axle 
boxes  of  all  the  cars  in  their  trains  are  properly 
packed,  and  oiled  as  often  as  necessary,  and  that  all 
defects  in  rolling  stock  or  track  where  the  train  is 
working,  are  repaired.  All  accidents  to  cars,  and  any- 
thing which  would  interfere  with  or  delay  the  work 
should  be  reported  promptly,  so  that  they  may  be 
quickly  remedied. 

Care  of  interlocking  switches.  This  branch  of 
railroading  is  extremely  intricate,  and  requires  in  the 
majority  of  cases  a  special  department  to  handle  it. 


3  GO 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


Interlocking,  as  the  name  implies,  is  something  that 
is  locked  together  with  something  else;  or,  in  other 
words,  if  the  switches  controlled  by  the  tower  are  set 
for  one  route,  this  will  be  indicated  by  the  signals,  and 
no  change  can  be  made  until  all  the  signals  are  back 
to  the  danger  position,  and  then  the  switches  can  be 
thrown  and  the  indications  given  accordingly. 

After  the  plant  has  been  put  in  place  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  working  of  it  falls  on  the  trackmen. 
All  running  parts  should  be  carefully  cleaned  and 
oiled  daily.  The  bolts  at  heels  of  moving  points 
should  be  so  adjusted  that  an  additional  strain  will  not 


— ! r   1                  i   1 

, ^-^ ,--, 

II                  II 

. -r-t -i    ■; 

1-  -, * — 1 ' 

"n             "nf^ 

-            ^lT 

Fig.  83 


be  brought  on  the  levers  in  the  towers.  A  very  good 
method  of  accomplishing  this  is  to  use  an  angle  bar, 
which  is  slightly  bent,  at  the  heels  of  movable  point 
frogs  and  switches.  This  can  best  be  described  b}^ 
reference  to  the  sketch,  Fig.  83. 

In  this  the  inside  of  the  bar  is  bent  from  the  middle 
toward  the  end  of  the  moving  point  an  amount  equal 
to  the  throw  at  the  end  of  the  bar ;  then  very  long  bolts 
are  used  with  lock  nuts.  This  does  away  with  any 
hinged  device,  and  is  absolutely  safe.  Also  stops 
should  be  used  at  several  places  on  the  side  of  the  mov- 
ing point  farthest  from  the  stock  rail,  so  as  to  do  away 
with  any  lost  motion. 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS 


361 


With  slip  switches  it  is  best  to  have  the  joints  at 
the  heels  of  all  moving  points  come  on  a  tie,  these 
acting-  as  solid  supports. 

All  ties  should  be  tamped  where  interlocking  is 
used,  so  as  to  prevent  any  settling ;  and  no  connections 
should  be  attached  to  the  ties  except  where  abso- 
lutely necessary,  as  this  renders  renewals  and  changes 
much  easier,  there  being  nothing  to  disconnect  or  re- 
place. 

The  adjustment  of  all  point  rails  should  be  given 
careful  attention,  so  as  to  be  sure  that  they  always 
stand  up  to  the  stock  rail. 


Fiff.  84.     Foot    Guard 


i 


When  connecting  up  switches  with  pipiilg  from 
towers,  the  person  in  charge  should  ascertain  that  the 
track  is  to  proper  grade  and  not  likely  to  settle  before 
the  foundations  for  pipe  lines  are  set;  then  these  can 
be  placed  to  a  proper  height. 

In  heavy  snow  storms  trains  should  be  cautioned  to 
pass  over  switches  that  are  interlocked,  with  care,  as 
it  is  often  advantageous  to  disconnect  certain  parts 
to  keep  the  plant  running.  For  instance,  detector 
bars,  being  so  long,  get  filled  and  thus  are  rendered 
hard  to  move ;  these  can  be  disconnected.     If  the  locks 


362 


THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 


and  switches,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the  storm,  are 
rendered  useless  from  the  tower,  it  is  to  the  foreman's 
advantage  to  have  these  disconnected  also,  and  throw 
the  switches  by  emergency  stands.  This  is  an  extreme 
case  and  should  only  be  resorted  to  when  a  tie-up  is 
imminent ;  and  as  trains  then  have  to  move  on  a  hand 


Direction  of  Traffic 


>- 


Interlocking 
Lever 


Fig.  85. 


Mechanically    Operated    Derailer 


signal  they  should  use  great  precaution.  These  stands 
should  be  made  as  small  and  compact  as  possible  and 
set  up  on  ties  ready  to  be  connected  in  times  of  emer- 
gency. 

Track  inspection.  There  should  be  a  well  organ- 
ized system  of  track  inspection  in  force  on  every  rail- 
road, and  it  should  be  made  efficient  in  proportion  to 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  363 

the  amount  of  traffic  and  the  condition  of  the  track. 

On  roads  where  only  ten  trains  a  day  or  less  pass 
over  track,  an  arrangement  could  be  made  to  have 
the  section  foreman,  on  days  on  which  his  work  does 
not  call  him  to  the  end  of  his  section,  send  a  man  over 
to  examine  the  track  from  wherever  the  gang  is  work- 
ing and  whenever  there  is  economy  in  it  the  hand 
car  could  be  run  to  the  end  of  the  section  in  prefer- 
ence to  sending  a  man  over  on  foot.  In  case  of  storms 
all  track  should  be  examined  as  necessary  day  or  night. 

When  a  railroad  is  double  tracked,  or  there  are  a 
large  number  of  trains  daily  over  a  single  track,  a 
regular  track-walker  should  be  employed  to  go  over 
the  whole  section  once  a  day  in  each  direction,  and  to 
report  to  the  section  foreman,  and  also  to  the  station 
agent  or  operator,  when  there  is  a  station  at  both  ends 
of  the  section. 

The  track-walker  should  so  time  his  passage  over 
the  section  as  to  be  able  to  see  all  the  track  or  at  least 
the  most  dangerous  points,  a  short  time  ahead  of  pass- 
enger trains. 

During  extremely  cold  or  stormy  weather  the  track 
needs  to  be  examined  particularly  and  in  order  to  in- 
sure inspection  of  track  at  least  once  a  day,  it  is  recom- 
mended that,  when  it  is  not  possible  to  run  a  hand  car, 
the  section  foreman  with  one  of  his  men  be  allowed  to 
ride  one  way  on  trains,  against  the  storm,  to  the  next 
station  or  to  the  end  of  his  section  and  return  back 
over  the  track  on  foot,  carrying  what  signals  and  tools 
would  be  necessary  in  case  of  emergency. 

The  conditions  are  so  varied  on  different  railroads 
and  sometimes  on  small  divisions  of  a  railroad  that 
each, company  can  best  organize  a  system  of  track  in- 
spection which  in  the  judgment  of  its  officers  is  best 
suited  to  its  wants.  The  foregoing  methods  are  only 
offered  as  suggestions  from  which  something  more 
useful  may  be  designed. 


XXIII 

PRACTICAL.   HINTS   FOR    TRACKMEN 

Safety  first.  The  first  ten  of  the  following  hints 
were  published  in  a  safety  poster  printed  by  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad  in  sixteen  languages,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  January  22,  1915,  issue  of  the  Ry.  Age 
Gaz. 

1.  Don 't  take  chances.  Think  what ' '  Safety  First ' ' 
means  to  you  and  to  your  family.  Do  your  work  in 
the  safe  way  and  be  careful  to  avoid  injury  to  yourself 
and  others. 

2.  Always  be  on  the  watch  for  trains  in  both  direc- 
tions, and  when  vou  step  from  one  track  to  another, 
ALWAYS  LOOK  IN  BOTH  DIRECTIONS  FIRST. 
Do  not  stand  close  to  rail  of  track  while  train  is  pass- 
ing. 

3.  When  your  foreman  signals  you  to  step  from 
track  do  so  AT  ONCE.  Don't  wait.  Don't  try  to 
remove  an  extra  shovelful  of  dirt  first.  That  last 
shovelful  of  dirt  may  cost  you  your  life. 

4.  Never  stand  or  walk  upon  the  tracks  except  when 
necessar}'  in  the  performance  of  your  work,  and  then 
watch  for  trains  in  both  directions,  as  trains  are  liable 
to  be  run  against  current  of  traffic  or  run  in  either 
direction  at  any  time. 

5.  Never  use  tools  that  have  battered  heads  or  are 

otherwise  defective  or  unsafe  for  use.     As  soon  as  you 

discover  a  tool  that  is  defective,  put  it  away  and  call 

it  to  the  attention  of  your  foreman  and  get  a  good 

one  in  its  place. 

364 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  365 

6.  Always  put  tools  or  material  of  any  kind  where 
they  cannot  be  struck  by  a  train.  Be  particular  about 
cleaning  up  rubbish  you  find  lying  near  the  track  and 
never  leave  anything  lying  about  for  other  men  to 
stumble  over. 

7.  Never  overload  hand  cars  either  with  material  or 
men.  In  operating  hand  cars  be  sure  you  afford  your- 
selves all  the  protection  that  is  required  by  the  rules. 

8.  Never  get  on  and  off  moving  cars  or  trains. 
Your  duties  do  not  require  it,  you  are  not  accustomed 
to  it  and  it  is  a  dangerous  practice. 

9.  Always  play  safe.  Think  about  what  you  are 
doing  and  don 't  forget  that  you  are  working  on  a  rail- 
road. 

10.  Obey  the  rules.  They  were  made  for  the  pro- 
tection of  yourself  and  others  and  they  should  be  ob- 
served to  the  letter. 

11.  In  England  during  the  year  1913  one  trackman 
in  611  was  killed,  and  one  in  19  injured.  In  the  U.  S. 
about  85  per  cent,  of  the  maintenance  men  who  are 
killed,  and  35  per  cent,  of  those  who  are  injured  are 
struck  or  run  over  by  cargo  engines,  practically  all 
these  accidents  being  due  to  carelessness,  thoughtless- 
ness or  indifference  because  the  men  are  violating  the 
rules  when  they  fail  t^  clear  the  tracks  on  the  ap- 
proach of  a  train. 

12.  What  can  be  gained  by  looking  out  for  safety. 
As  a  result  of  attention  to  safety  the  number  of  in- 
juries to  maintenance  men  on  the  B.  &  0.  for  the  first 
half  of  1914  was  reduced  66  per  cent,  as  compared 
with  the  same  period  of  1913.  On  the  C.  &  N.  W.  the 
reduction  during  the  fiscal  year  of  1914  as  compared 
with  the  fiscal  year  of  1910  was  39%o  per  cent,  in 
deaths  to  track  men,  27.7  per  cent,  in  injuries  to  track 
men,  33.3  per  cent,  in  deaths  to  bridge  men  and  38.8 
per  cent,  in  injuries  to  bridge  men;  the  average  de- 
crease in  accidents  to  all  employees  was  41.1  per  cent. 


366  THE  TILACK:VIJlN"S  HELPEK 

The  El  Paso  &  Southwestern  Safety  Department  re- 
duced the  number  of  fatal  accidents  to  track  men  37.5 
p^r  cent,  in  191^1  as  compared  with  the  previous  year. 
Similar  figures  on  the  Wabash  show  46  per  cent,  de- 
crease in  fatal  injuries. 

Classified  rules  for  safety  and  mamfcenance.  The 
following  rules  were  suggested  by  3Ir.  J.  T.  Bowser  of 
the  Queen  &  Crescent  Eoute,  and  published  in  the  Ry. 
Age  Gaz-  They  are  so  excellent  and  well  arranged 
that  they  are  here  given  in  full. 

13.  General.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  employees  to 
watch  for,  and  to  report  to  their  superior  officers,  all 
matters  involving  the  safety  of  employees  and  the 
public. 

14.  "When  it  can  be  done  without  neglect  of  other 
duties,  employes  will  warn  off  trespassers  or  others 
whose  duties  do  not  require  their  presence  on  the  right 
of  wav  or  tracks. 

15.  General  instructions  concerning  safe  practices 
must  be  posted  in  tool  houses  or  camp  cars  where  they 
can  be  seen  by  employees,  and  employes  should  be  re- 
quiretl  to  read  such  instructions. 

16.  S'u  per  vision.  Employes  entering  the  service 
are  required  to  read  or  have  read  to  them  outstanding 
instructions  or  rules  involving  their  own  safety  or  that 
of  others. 

17.  Foremen  working  on  double  track  will  require 
their  men  t  "p  off  of  both  tracks  while  trains  are 
passing. 

18.  Foremen  are  re<:iuired  to  stay  with  their  gj 
at  all  times,  to  keep  watch  for  trains  and  to  see 
their  men  perform  their  work  in  such  a  manner 
neither  their  own  safety  nor  that  of  others  is  eni 
gered- 

19.  Yard  foremen  or  others  in  charge  of  men  woi 
ing  in  places  where  the  passage  of  engines  or  ears 
very  frequent^  are  prohibited  from  taking  part  in 


PRACTICAL  HIXTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  367 

work  at  hand  or  performing  any  other  work  which 
will  prevent  their  keeping  a  proper  lookout  for  trains 
or  cars,  unless  they  assign  some  responsible  man  to 
keep  such  a  lookout. 

20.  Men  ha^ing  defective  sight  or  hearing  or  men 
who  are  habituallv  careless  in  their  work  are  not  con- 
sidered  desirable  employees  and  must  not  be  retained 
in  the  service. 

21.  The  use  of  gauntleted  gloves  by  employees  hand- 
ling heavy  material  is  prohibited. 

22.  Except  in  "cases  of  emergency,  employees  must 
not  handle  work  with  which  they  are  not  familiar. 
(This  applies  particularly  to  handling  of  equipment 
and  electrical  work.) 

23.  Under  no  condition  must  high  tension  electric 
power  wires  be  handled  by  other  employees  than  those 
whose  duties  require  them  to  look  after  such  matters. 
In  cases  of  the  breakage  of  such  wires,  a  watchman 
should  be  left  at  such  break  until  the  arrival  of  the 
proper  person  to  make  repairs. 

24.  Clearance  and  had  footing.  Except  on  explicit 
instructions  from  proper  authority,  no  track  will  be 
laid,  nor  will  anv  structure  be  erected,  which  will  not 
give  ample  clearance  to  a  man  on  the  side  of  a  car. 

25.  When  conditions  necessitate  the  construction  of 
a  structure  or  track  which  does  not  afford  proper  clear- 
ance to  a  man  on  the  side  of  a  car,  the  point  should  be 
protected  by  proper  flagmen. 

26.  When  it  is  necessarA'  to  obstruct  or  in  any  man- 
ner change  the  nature  of  the  ground  where  trainmen 
or  others  habituallv  walk  or  alisht  from  trains,  the 

•  ■ — 

despatcher  or  other  proper  authority  must  be  advised 
so  that  notice  to  this  effect  may  be  put  out. 

27.  When  it  is  necessarv  to  make  anv  radical  change 
in  tracks,  structures  or  appliances  in  habitual  use, 
proper  authorities  must  be  notified  so  that  notice  to 
this  effect  mav  be  issued. 


308  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

28.  Excavations  left  over  night  must  be  protected  by 
railings,  and  temporary  obstructions  of  any  nature 
must  be  protected  at  night  by  red  lights  when  this  can 
be  done  without  danger  of  such  lights  being  confused 
with  signals  for  train  operation. 

Hand  cars,  push  cars,  motor  cars  and  velocipedes. 

29.  Track  foremen  will  not  permit  the  use,  on  their 
sections,  of  hand,  motor,  push,  or  velocipede  cars,  by 
others  than  those  whose  duties  require  the  use  of  such 
cars  or  those  having  written  permission  from  a  proper 
authority. 

30.  The  use  of  any  of  the  above  cars  for  other  pur- 
poses than  the  performance  of  their  proper  work  is 
prohibited. 

31.  Cars  will  not  be  used  except  when  in  charge  of  a 
foreman  or  a  competent  assistant. 

32.  When  meeting  a  train  on  either  one  of  a  double 
track  cars  must  be  set  off. 

33.  Where  operators,  'phones  or  other  means  of  com- 
municating with  the  despatcher  are  available,  fore- 
men will  obtain  line-ups  on  trains  before  going  out 
with  cars. 

34.  Foremen  will  protect  their  cars  by  flag  when 
passing  through  tunnels  or  over  portions  of  the  line 
where  trains  cannot  be  seen  for  a  sufficient  distance  to 
enable  cars  to  be  set  off. 

35.  The  use  of  hand  cars  with  wooden  handles  is 
prohibited. 

36.  Foremen  will  not  carry,  or  permit  to  be  carried 
on  their  cars,  any  one  not  an  emploj^ee  of  the  company 
or  any  employee  whose  duty  does  not  require  the  use 
of  the  car. 

37.  Use  of  locomotives  or  trains.  Employees  in  the 
maintenance  of  way  department  are  prohibited  from 
riding  on  locomotives.  (This  applies  to  work  trains 
as  well  as  other  trains.) 

38.  Except  in  the  performance  of  their  duties,  em- 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  3G9 

ployees  in  the  maintenance  of  way  department  are  pro- 
hibited from  swinging  upon  or  riding  on  trains  or 
cars. 

39.  Camp  cars.  When  camp  cars  are  to  remain  at 
one  station  a  week  or  more  they  must  be  spurred  out 
or  otherwise  protected  from  trains  or  cars. 

40.  All  movable  articles  in  camp  cars  must  be  fast- 
ened down  or  otherwise  prevented  from  moving  when 
cars  are  to  be  handled. 

41.  Heavy  tools  or  material  must  not  be  suspended 
but  must  be  placed  on  the  floor  or  otherwise  prevented 
from  moving. 

42.  Foremen  in  charge  of  cars  are  required  to  see 
that  steps,  hand  holds,  ladders,  etc.,  are  maintained  in 
safe  condition. 

43.  Special  equipment.  The  responsibility  for  the 
maintenance  of  all  special  equipment  in  safe  condi- 
tion lies  primarily  with  the  operator,  but  foremen  in 
charge  of  work  on  which  such  equipment  is  engaged 
will  make  frequent  inspection. 

44.  Lines,  blocks  and  other  apparatus  on  derricks, 
hoisting  engines,  etc.,  must  be  thoroughly  inspected 
and  testfed  before  being  used  after  the  machine  has 
been  out  of  service. 

45.  In  freezing  weather  all  water  must  be  drawn 
from  a  boiler  at  night  unless  provision  is  made  to  keep 
it  hot,  and  when  equipment  is  to  be  stored,  water  must 
be  drawn  from  boilers  regardless  of  weather  condi- 
tions. 

46.  Road  crossings,  gates  and  fences.  It  is  the  duty 
of  section  foremen  to  see  that  all  grade  crossings  are 
maintained  in  a  safe  and  passable  condition,  especial 
care  being  exercised  during  the  automobile  season. 

47.  Section  foremen  will  keep  cleared  away  from 
crossings  weeds  or  other  obstructions  which  prevent  a 
clear  view  of  approaching  trains. 

48.  All  employees  will  close  gates  in  right  of  way 


370  THE  TRACKJVIAN'S  HELPER 

fences  when  they  are  found  open  and  will  endeavor  to 
have  parties  who  use  these  gates  keep  them  closed. 

49.  Foremen  will  look  out  for  breaks  in  the  right  of 
way  fences  or  other  conditions  which  will  permit  the 
entrance  of  stock  onto  the  right  of  way  and  will 
remedy  such  conditions  or  will  report  them  to  the 
proper  authority. 

50.  Inspection  and  use  of  tools.  Foremen  will 
satisfy  themselves  daily  that  all  tools  used  by  the  men 
under  their  supervision  are  in  safe  condition,  and  they 
will  prohibit  the  use  of  tools  found  to  be  defective. 

51.  The  use  of  jacks  on  the  inside  of  the  rail  is 
prohibited. 

52.  Tools  must  be  removed  from  between  the  rails 
or  from  points  close  to  the  track  while  engines  or  cars 
are  passing. 

53.  Tools  not  in  use  must  be  kept  picked  up  and 
placed  where  they  will  not  be  an  obstruction. 

54.  Scaffolding.  Foremen  in  charge  of  work  which 
requires  scaffolding  will  personally  inspect  all  ma- 
terial to  be  used  in  the  scaffolds  and  satisfy  themselves 
that  such  material  is  entirely  safe  for  use. 

55.  Foremen  will  personally  oversee  the  construction 
of  scaffolding  and  will  see  that  a  safe  construction  is 
used.  During  the  use  of  the  scaffolds  foremen  will  see 
that  thev  are  not  overloaded. 

56.  The  use  of  scaffolds  by  employees  or  others 
whose  duties  do  not  require  it,  is  prohibited. 

57.  Runwavs  or  ladders  must  not  be  located  under 
scaffolds  or  at  other  points  where  tools  or  material  are 
likely  to  fall,  and  where  a  considerable  amount  of  work 
is  to  be  done  temporarv^  railings  must  be  erected  to 
keep  men  from  going  beneath  them. 

58.  Cable  and  tackle  scaffolds  which  have  been 
stored  or  shipped  must  be  thoroughly  tested  for  de- 
terioration or  injury  before  being  used. 

59.  Loading   and  unloading   material.     Cars   must 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  371 

not  be  loaded  beyond  marked  capacity  and  top-heavy 
loading  must  be  avoided. 

60.  Foremen  will  inspect  all  material  to  be  used  for 
standards  or  stakes  and  will  see  that  they  are  securely 
applied.  Properly  braced  end  boards  must  be  applied 
where  rails  or  similar  material  are  loaded  on  flat  cars. 

61.  Rails  will  be  loaded  by  machine  where  possible, 
but  when  necessary  to  load  by  hand  the  following  pre- 
cautions must  be  observed:  (A)  Divide  the  gang 
equally  on  the  ends  of  the  rail ;  (B)  Do  not  attempt  to 
throw  rail  unless  an  ample  force  is  at  hand  to  throw  it 
clear;  (C)  designate  one  man  to  call  directions  and 
prohibit  others  from  calling;  (D)  do  not  attempt  to 
load  where  men  cannot  get  away  readily  should  the 
rail  fall  back. 

62.  Loading  must  be  discontinued  while  trains  or 
cars  are  passing  on  adjoining  tracks. 

63.  When  unloading  material  a  lookout  must  be 
placed  to  warn  persons  passing  the  car. 

64.  Material  should  not  be  unloaded  from  both  sides 
of  a  car  at  once  but  from  each  side  alternately.  The 
same  principle  applies  to  loading  material. 

65.  Men  should  be  called  out  of  the  cars  when  ma- 
terial is  being  dragged  out  of  hopper  bottom  cars  and 
should  not  be  permitted  to  remain  in  any  car  while  it 
is  being  switched. 

66.  Handling  of  explosives.  The  use  of  torpedo 
signals  on  station  grounds  is  prohibited. 

67.  The  storage  of  dynamite  or  other  explosives  in 
tool  houses  or  camp  cars  is  prohibited. 

68.  All  shipments  of  explosives  must  be  made  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rulings  of  the  Bureau  for  the  Safe 
Transportation  of  Explosives. 

69.  The  use  of  explosives  by  others  than  experienced 
men  is  prohibited. 

70.  Charges  which  fail  to  explode  must  not  be  ap- 
proached until  the  expiration  of  ten  minutes  and  they 


372  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

should  be  removed  only  hy  experienced  men  using  no 
metal  which  could  cause  a  spark.  All  others  must  re- 
main at  a  safe  distance. 

71.  Explosives  must  be  drawn  from  the  magazine 
only  as  required  and  must  not  be  left  on  the  work 
under  any  condition. 

Dent's.  The  following  list  of  65  hints  was  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  J.  G.  Wishart,  of  the  C.  R.  I.  &  P.  Ry.  in 
Ry.  Eng.  &  M.  of  AV.  in  1913 : 

72.  Don't  trust  to  a  red  flag  unless  you  can  see  it. 
Someone  may  have  stolen  it. 

73.  Don't  obstruct  track  in  the  face  of  a  passenger 
train. 

74.  Don't  put  your  track  jack  between  the  rails. 

75.  Don't  shim  track  with  soft  wood  or  temporary 
material. 

76.  Don't  surface  your  track  down  hill  if  you  can 
avoid  it. 

77.  Don't  raise  your  track  more  than  necessary  at 
summit  of  grades. 

78.  Don't  take  out  ties  that  are  serviceable. 

79.  Don't  leave  your  tools  out  on  the  section  for 
tramps  and  train  wreckers. 

80.  Don 't  leave  spikes  or  track  bolts  where  they  can 
be  placed  on  rail  by  children  playing  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

81.  Don't  use  a  briar  scj^the  w^here  j^ou  should  use 
an  axe  or  bushhook. 

82.  Don't  cut  grass  with  a  bushhook. 

83.  Don't  use  a  tamping  pick  after  the  head  has 
been  practically  worn  off. 

84.  Don't  burn  your  ties  in  the  evening  and  leave 
the  fire  when  you  go  home  at  night. 

85.  Don 't  send  one  man  over  the  track  to  tighten  up 
joints;  he  won't  do  it.  Take  the  whole  gang  and  get 
it  done. 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  373 

86.  Don't  leave  overhanging  rocks  in  cuts  or  tunnels 
that  you  know  should  be  removed. 

87.  Don't  leave  a  broken  rail  because  it  matches  up 
perfectly.  Remove  it  from  main  track  and  before 
using  again  saw  off  broken  ends  and  drill  for  angle 
bars;  it  is  preferable  to  replace  it  with  a  full  length 
rail. 

88.  Don't  smooth  the  track  and  forget  to  line  it. 
Bad  line  will  jerk  a  train  worse  than  low  joints. 

89.  Don't  use  a  bad  lever  in  a  hand  car.  It  will 
break  when  you  want  it  to  hold,  and  is  liable  to  cause 
an  accident. 

90.  Don't  leave  a  switch  point  that  does  not  fit  up 
perfectly. 

91.  Don't  permit  a  spring  rail  frog  to  remain  with 
the  point  spread  open. 

92.  Don't  leave  crossing  plank  projecting  above  the 
top  of  rail. 

93.  Don't  leave  broken  angle  bars  in  the  track. 

94.  Don^t  leave  your  hand  car  on  a  crossing  where 
it  will  frighten  horses. 

95.  Don't  leave  bolts  in  the  rain,  where  they  will  get 
rusty. 

96.  Don't  leave  your  tools  along  the  road,  where 
they  can  be  stolen. 

97.  Don't  dig  a  ditch  and  then  throw  the  dirt  where 
it  will  wash  back  into  it  when  it  rains. 

98.  Don't  ballast  track  where  the  roadbed  is  not 
wide  enough  to  hold  it. 

99.  Don't  leave  dirt  or  foul  ballast  where  it  will  hold 
water  under  the  ties. 

100.  Don't  try  to  draw  a  rail  with  a  spike — hold  it 
to  ^age  with  a  bar  and  drive  the  spikes  straight. 

101.  Don't  carry  non-employees  on  your  cars. 

102.  Don't  trust  to  a  red  flag  without  torpedoes ;  you 
may  need  the  shells  to  prove  you  had  a  flag  out. 


374  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

103.  Don't  waste  dirt  in  a  cut  that  you  know  should 
be  put  on  the  adjoining  fill. 

104.  Don't  leave  ties  unspiked. 

105.  Don't  go  to  work  without  your  level  and  gage. 

106.  Don't  leave  your  car  and  tools  around  station 
platforms,  where  they  will  obstruct  travel. 

107.  Don't  leave  your  section  without  permission 
from  your  superior  except  in  emergency. 

108.  Don 't  allow  ballast  to  roll  down  the  bank  or  lie 
in  ditches. 

109.  Don't  let  new  ties  roll  down  the  bank  when 
distributing  them. 

110.  Don't  throw  steel  rails  off  cars  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  bend  them.  They  should  either  be  skidded 
off,  or  dropped  flat,  where  they  will  not  fall  on  other 
obstructions. 

111.  Don't  allow  your  men  to  wear  red  garments 
when  on  duty. 

112.  Don't  hang  your  clothes  on  the  roadway 
signs. 

113.  Don't  use  dangerously  defective  cars  or  tools. 

114.  Don't  use  bent  spikes  for  track  bolts. 

115.  Don't  guess  at  the  number  of  ties  put  in  track 
each  month.     Count  them. 

116.  Don't  guess  at  the  rail  on  your  section.  Meas- 
ure it. 

117.  Don't  be  disrespectful  to  owners  of  land  ad- 
joining the  right  of  way.  Remember  they  are  your 
neighbors. 

118.  Don't  permit  material  or  buildings  to  be  placed 
too  near  the  track. 

119.  Don't  put  wedges  and  shims  between  principal 
members  of  trusses. 

120.  Don't  try  to  support  a  plate  girder  at  an  un- 
braced flange. 

121.  Don't  let  the  nuts  work  off  hook  bolts  of 
stringers  and  off  guard  rails. 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  375 

122.  Don't  force  rivet  holes  where  they  should  be 
reamed. 

123.  Don't  join  members  of  iron  bridges  without 
first  painting  them. 

124.  Don't  allow  drift  to  accumulate  at  the  ends  of 
piers. 

125.  Don't  allow  tin  roofs  to  be  destroyed  for  the 
want  of  a  little  paint. 

126.  Don't  take  oat  too  many  ties  and  allow  the 
track  to  kink  in  hot  weather. 

127.  Don't  fill  in  with  ballast  when  the  ties  rest  on 
dirt. 

128.  Don't  make  ballast  margin  when  you  have  not 
enough  material  to  fill  in  between  the  ties  and  thor- 
oughly tamp  them. 

129.  Don't  nick,  slot  or  dent  steel  rails. 

130.  Don't  place  rails  in  curves  sharper  than  two 
degrees  withou^first  curving  them  with  a  rail  bender. 

131.  Don't  allow  the  gage  of  track  at  frog  points  to 
vary  from  the  standard  without  correspondingly  ad- 
justing the  flangeway  of  the  guard  rail. 

132.  Don't  allow  your  right  of  way  fences  to  be- 
come dilapidated  and  allow  stock  to  enter  upon  the 
right  of  way. 

133.  Don't  fail  to  fill  out  all  your  reports  carefully 
and  intelligently ;  these  reports  are  required  for  a  pur- 
pose. 

134.  Don't  guess  at  data  for  your  broken  rail  re- 
ports.    Read  what  is  marked  on  the  rail. 

135.  Don't  allow  farm  gates  in  the  right  of  way 
fence  to  stand  open. 

136.  Don't  secure  hand  or  push  cars  behind  a  mov- 
ing train  to  save  the  labor  of  pumping  or  pushing 
them.  Many  serious  accidents  have  happened  from 
this  cause.  If  a  train  should  slacken  speed,  or  sud- 
denly stop,  with  a  hand  car  attached,  it  would  be  hard 
to  prevent  the  car  from  going  under  the  coach  or 


37G  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

caboose,  and  the  men  on  the  car  might  be  injured  or 
killed. 

137.  Whenever  you  receive  a  message  from  your 
roadmaster  which  requires  an  answer,  don't  wait  or 
dela}',  but  answer  it  promptly  and  correctly. 

138.  Miscellaneous  hints.  The  man  who  takes  ad- 
vantage of  published  data  becomes  100  years  old  in 
experience  before  he  is  30  years  old  in  life ;  therefore, 
cultivate  the  habit  of  learning  new  methods  from  books 
and  periodicals,  and  then  don't  wait  to  see  them  used 
but  apply  them  yourself,  even  if  you  have  to  devise 
some  details  that  are  not  described. 

139.  Get  a  loose  leaf  notebook,  such  as  those  fur- 
nished by  Lef  ax,  Philadelphia,  and  gradually  build  up 
for  yourself  your  own  handbook  of  tables  and  special 
information. 

140.  Responsibility  without  authority  and  authority 
without  responsibility  are  fatal  to  successful  work. 

141.  The  adoption  of  a  new  idea  does  not  indicate 
that  you  have  not  had  proper  experience.  Opposi- 
tion to  a  new  idea  simply  means  that  you  are  too 
"hidebound"  to  appreciate  its  value. 

142.  Each  foreman  should  keep  a  small  diary  in 
which  to  jot  down  the  principal  events  of  the  day. 
This  may  turn  out  to  be  very  useful  to  him  and  to  his 
employers,  especially  in  the  event  of  lawsuits. 

143.  One  of  the  secrets  of  successful  management 
consists  in  quickly  finding  out  who  are  the  inefficient 
men  of  the  gang.  The  best  foremen  always  hail  from 
IMissouri.  Remember  that  in  order  to  get  the  most 
successful  work  out  of  a  man  for  his  money  he  must 
have  a  stronger  incentive  to  do  his  best  than  the  mere 
fear  of  discharge  for  incompetency. 

144.  The  safe-guarding  of  the  lives  of  your  men  or 
their  hands  and  feet  is  worth  money  to  your  employer 
as  well  as  to  the  men  themselves. 

145.  Don't  use  a  high  priced  man  to  do  a  low  priced 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  377 

man's  work  and  don't  try  to  use  a  low  priced  man  to 
do  a  high  priced  man 's  work.     He  won 't  do  it  anyway. 

146.  Get  the  habit  of  instinctively  thinking  of  your 
work  in  terms  of  dollars;  your  employer  will  soon 
begin  to  think  of  you  in  the  same  terms. 

147.  Lookout  for  the  chronic  ' '  can 't  be  done ' '  man. 

148.  Do  not  allow  timber  to  lie  in  the  sun  unpro- 
tected.    This  causes  checking. 

149.  When  piling  lumber  leave  wide  spaces  be- 
tween the  boards  and  planks  so  that  they  may  dry 
more  quickly,  and  give  the  top  layer  considerable  pitch 
to  drain  off  surface  water.  Turn  the  top  layer  over 
often  to  prevent  curling. 

150.  Measure  or  weigh  all  materials  upon  delivery. 

151.  In  shoveling  stiff  clay  which  sticks  to  the 
shovel,  dip  the  shovel  in  water  between  shovelfuls. 

152.  In  shoveling  sticky  mud,  drill  holes  through 
the  bowl  of  the.s3;iovel  so  that  suction  will  not  cause 
the  mud  to  stick. 

153.  In  excavating  a  bank  of  earth  lay  down  a  tem- 
porary floor  so  that  earth  pitched  down  will  fall  on  the 
floor,  from  which  it  can  be  easily  shoveled. 

154.  A  very  useful  arrangement  for  moving  heavy 
stones  for  short  distances  is  a  ''skid  road"  such  as  is 
used  by  loggers.  The  material  is  carried  on  a  sled 
that  rides  on  a  skid.  Skids  are  laid  like  the  cross 
ties  of  a  railroad  and  are  kept  greased. 

155.  In  wheelbarrow  work  the  ideal  length  of  haul 
is  25  ft.  but  50  ft.  is  not  excessive.  75  ft.  is  too  long 
and  100  ft.  should  never  be  attempted  when  horses  and 
carts  are  available. 

156.  Use  round  timber  for  posts  of  temporary 
trestles  for  trench  braces,  etc.,  wherever  it  can  be 
bought  for  less  money  than  sawn  stuff. 

157.  It  is  much  more  economical  to  lift  water  by 
means  of  a  good  pump  than  by  bailing  it  with  a  bucket. 

158.  For  back  filling  trenches  and  any  similar  work 


378  THE  TRACKMAN'S  HELPER 

use  the  largest  sized  shovels  at  hand,  and  in  general, 
when  there  is  little  or  no  lift  the  shovel  can  be  two 
or  three  times  as  large  as  when  the  man  has  to  lift  the 
material  on  his  shovel. 

159.  Handling  men.  A  track  foreman  should  be  re- 
spectful to  his  superior  officers  without  being  servile, 
and  when  talking  or  writing  to  them  he  should  show  a 
confidence  in  himself  without  making  too  much  of  an 
exhibition  of  self-conceit  or  stubbornness,  either  of 
which  will  onlj^  be  rewarded  by  their  ridicule  or  con- 
tempt. A  man  who  is  placed  over  other  men  should 
have  a  will  power  strong  enough  to  control  them  and 
maintain  his  authoritv  without  being  either  abusive  or 
profane.  To  bulldoze  an  inferior  is  not  the  way  to 
either  instruct  him  or  gain  his  respect. 

160.  Foremen  who  can  keep  good  men,  and  secure 
more  men  when  wanted,  are  more  valuable  to  a  rail- 
road company  than  those  who  frequently  discharge 
men  and  who  seldom  have  help  when  it  is  needed. 

161.  Try  to  gain  the  respect  of  your  men  and  you 
will  have  faithful  workers.  To  do  this  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  you  be  too  familiar  with  them. 

162.  If  you  have  a  man  working  for  jou  who  will 
not  do  the  work  as  you  instruct  him,  discharge  him  and 
get  some  one  who  will.  But  do  not  work  along  in  a 
groove,  and  think  you  have  learned  it  all,  and  if  any  of 
your  men  suggest  something  which  you  know  to  be  an 
improvement  do  not  be  ashamed  to  adopt  it. 

163.  Track  foremen  should  learn  the  habit  of  study- 
ing out  the  best  method  of  doing  each  piece  of  work  on 
which  they  are  engaged,  and  when  practicable  have 
the  work  planned  out  beforehand.  The  mind  can 
often  do  more  than  the  hands. 

164.  A  good  track  foreman  will  have  a  keen  interest 
in  his  work,  and  be  ambitious  to  show  good  results  as 
well  on  the  last  day  that  he  works  for  a  company  as 
when  he  was  first  promoted  from  the  shovel. 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  TRACKMEN  379 

165.  Foremen  who  are  not  prompt  in  executing  the 
orders  of  the  roadmaster,  and  who  often  do  work  in  a 
way  contrary  to  that  in  which  they  have  been  in- 
structed, seldom  hold  a  position  long  on  any  road. 
This  kind  of  men,  together  with  that  class  which  fre- 
quent saloons  and  get  drunk  occasionally,  constitute 
about  nine-tenths  of  the  section  foremen  who  are  dis- 
charged for  cause.  Roadmasters  very  seldom  dis- 
charge a  foreman  for  his  want  of  knowledge  about 
some  particular  piece  of  work,  and  they  are  always 
willing  to  give  information  as  to  the  best  method  of 
doing  work  when  asked  for  it.  Whenever  a  track 
foreman  begins  to  think  his  work  is  too  hard  and  his 
pay  is  too  small,  or  that  the  officers  of  the  road  are  not 
using  him  right,  he  becomes  careless  and  loses  all  in- 
terest in  the  work.  That  man  should  quit  at  once  and 
go  hunt  a  job  in  some  other  place,  where  he  might  be 
better  satisfied  ^nd  appreciated.  Every  track  fore- 
man should  make  a  continued  effort  to  elevate  his  oc- 
cupation and  make  it  respectable.  Be  sober,  honest 
and  industrious  and  you  will  be  successful. 

166.  Section  record.  The  attention  of  trackmen 
generally,  and  especially  section  foremen,  is  here  again 
called  to  the  importance  of  keeping  a  record  of  every- 
thing connected  with  the  piece  of  track  in  their  charge. 
Every  foreman  should  know  the  length  of  his  section, 
the  amount  of  straight  and  curve  track,  the  degree  of 
ever}^  curve,  the  different  brands  of  steel  or  iron  rail, 
how  much  of  each  and  when  laid.  He  should  also 
know  the  number  of  cuts  on  his  section  and  the 
amount  of  snow  fence,  if  any,  on  each  cut ;  the  bridge 
and  culvert  numbers  and  highway  or  railroad  cross- 
ings, and  the  distance  they  are  from  his  headquarters ; 
and  many  other  facts  of  importance  which  are  very 
valuable  to  assist  a  man  in  organizing  work  and  mak- 
ing comparisons,  also  that  he  may  be  in  a  position  to 
answer  questions  of  his  superior  officers  as  to  location 


380 


THE  TRACKjVIAN'S  HELPER 


of  places  and  things  without  the  necessity  of  making 
special  examinations  when  the  time  cannot  well  be 
spared.  The  following  example  illustrates  a  simple 
form  for  condensing  the  information  referred  to,  and 
is  a  handy  way  for  foremen  to  write  it  out  on  the 
pocket  memorandum: 

Section  No.  10 

Length  of  Section   G  miles,  1,000  feet 

''     "    north  side  track    1,600     " 

house    track    1,800 

north  side  track    1,600 

south    track    1,000 


(( 
it 


Bridge  Xo. 

50 
51 
52 


No.  of  Bents 

3 

8 
Iron 


Length 
of  Span 

30  feet 
100     " 
120     " 


Distance 
from  Station 

2      miles 
21/2     " 
31/4 


(( 


Culvert  No. 

186 
187 
188 

Cuts,  Length 
in  Feet 

One  352 

"     488 
"  1260 


Box      Stone 
1 


Height 
Above  Rail 

4  feet 

8  " 

9  " 


Iron  Pipe 

i 


Panels  of 
Snow  Fence 

22 

3oy, 

89 


Distance 
from  Station 

114  miles 
1%     " 

2!4    " 

Distance 
from  Station 

3  miles 
31/0     " 

4  "      " 


Steel  Rail, 

Amount  When  Laid 

4  miles,  500  ft.  1895 


2  miles,  500  ft. 


1899 


Brand 

N.  C.  R.  M.  Co. 

75  lbs. 

Crawshaw 

85  lbs. 


Extends 
from  Station 

West— 

From  Steel  to 

End  of  Section 


DIMENSIONS  OF  iSTANDARD  FROGS  AND  SWITCHES 
FOR   NARROW-GAGE    INDUSTRIAL   AND   MINE    TRACKS. 

Standard   Frog  for   Motor   Turnout    (Right  or   Left). 


Length 

Length 

Wt.  of 

Length 

of           Heel 

Length           of 

Frog 

Frog 

Rail,  Lb. 

of 

Wing        Dis- 

of           Straight 

No. 

Angle, 

per  Yd. 

Frog, 

Rail,       tance, 

Throat.         Rail. 

X 

A 

B              C 

D                 E 

Deg.  Min 

Ft.      In. 

In.        Ft.  In. 

In.           Ft.  In. 

3 

18      55 

30 

4        0 

16          2      8 

315/16           2      3 

4 

14      15 

30 

4        8 

20           3      0 

5%              2      9 

4 

14      15 

40 

4        8 

20           3      0 

61/2              3      0 

5 

11      25 

30 

4      10 

20           3      2 

73i6             3      0 

5 

11      25 

40 

5        0 
Standard 

20           3      4 
Switch  * 

81/s              3      0 

Length 

Dist. 

Length  of        Rail        Gage 

Length  of     Rod 

of 

Between 

Rail 

Punch-        of 

Bridle      Punch 

Wt.  of 

Point, 

Bridle 

Planed, 

ing,       Track. 

Rod           ing, 

Rail,  Lb 

F 

Rods.    L 

H 

J      K         G 

M              N 

per  Yd. 

Ft.   In. 

Ft.      In. 

Ft.  In. 

In.   In.       In. 

Ft.   In.         In. 

20 

4      0 

(1  rod) 

1     4 

4     2           36 

5      81^          25 

25 

4      0 

(1  rod) 

1     6 

4      2            40 

6      014          29 

30 

4      0 

(1  rod) 

1     9 

4      2            42 

6      21/4          31 

30 

6      0 

2        3 

2      6 

4      2            44 

6      41/4          33 

30 

7      6 

3        0 

3      0 

4      2            48 

6      814          37 

40 

6      0 

2        3 

2      9 

5      21/2        — 

_     —           — 

40 

7      6 

3        0 

3      6 

5      21/2        — 

_     —           — 

*  The  throw  of  switch  point  is  3i/^-in.  for  all  cases. 

DIMENSIONS    FOR    TURNOUTS    IN    NARROW-GAGE 

TRACKS  * 

Gage  of  Track,    36   In. 

Chord        Middle 

Length  of                                               Length  of  of           Ordinate 

Frog       Switch    Radius  of      Length  of        Straight  Curved     of  Curved 

No.         Points.     Turnout,           Lead,               Rail,  Rail,            Rail, 

F                 R                     S                     T  U                 V 

Ft.        Ft.        In.       Ft.      In.        Ft.      In.  Ft.      In.          In. 

3  4  42      7%{;        16      311/i6      10      911/i6      10    109/i6      4%4 

4  4              81      11/2         19      3             13      5  13      8           3% 

4  6              75      8I/4         22      6             14      8  14   10%       4^i6 

5  4            141      71/4         22      2%         16      47^  16      75/i6      27/s 

5               6            126      7             26      01/2         18      21/.  18      4%       315/i6 

5  71/2        122      97/8         28      41/2         19      01/2  19      2%       47/i6 

6  71/2        184      9%         30      95^         21      5%  22      9           4%6 

Gage   of   Track,    42    in. 

3  4              52      li^lc      18      914         12   111^  13      3%       41%6 

4  4              99      21/s         22      3             16      5  16      814       41/3 

4  6              92      63/8         25      9             17   11  18      21/3       51/4 

5  4            172      01/2         25      91/^         19   lll^  20      2           31/2 

5               6            153      8%         29    111/4         22      II/4  22      37/8       4l%6 

5  71/2        149      17/8         32      51/2         23      II/2  23      4           57/i6 

6  71/2        223      5%         36      71/2         27      31/2  27      6           51/ig 

*  The  table  prepared  by  Mr.  Brown  includes  five  widths  of  track 
gage — 36-in. ;  40-in. ;  42-in.;  44-in, ;  and  48-in.  We  give  the  figures 
for  the  36-in.  and  42-in.  gages  only. 

381 


MISCELLANEOUS  TABLES  AND  RULES 


Table  of  inches  in  decimals  of  a  foot. 


10"     11' 


0   .  . 

0 

.083 

.167 

.25 

.333 

.417 

.5— 

.583 

.667 

.75 

.833 

.917 

Vie    . 

..    .005 

.089 

.172 

.255 

.339 

.422 

.505 

.589 

.672 

.755 

.839 

.922 

%   . 

.  .    .010 

.094 

.177 

.260 

.344 

.427 

.510 

.594 

.677 

.760 

.844 

.927 

%6 

..    .016 

.099 

.182 

.266 

.349 

.432 

.516 

.599 

.682 

.766 

.849 

.932 

1/4     . 

.  .    .021 

.104 

.188 

.271 

.354 

.438 

.521 

.604 

.688 

.771 

.854 

.938 

^10 

..    .026 

.109 

.193 

.276 

.359 

.443 

.526 

.609 

.693 

.776 

.859 

.943 

%     . 

.  .    .031 

.115 

.198 

.281 

.365 

.448 

.531 

.615 

.698 

.781 

.865 

.948 

%6 

..    .037 

.120 

.203 

.287 

.370 

.453 

.537 

.620 

.703 

.787 

.870 

.953 

V'l  . 

.  .    .042 

.125 

.208 

.292 

.375 

.458 

.542 

.625 

.708 

.792 

.875 

.958 

%6 

..    .047 

.130 

.214 

.297 

.380 

.464 

.547 

.630 

.714 

.797 

.880 

.964 

%     . 

.  .  .    .052 

.135 

.219 

.302 

.385 

.469 

.552 

.635 

.719 

.802 

.885 

.969 

"A6 

..  .    .057 

.141 

.224 

.307 

.391 

.474 

.557 

.641 

.724 

.807 

.891 

.974 

%  . 

.  .    .063 

.146 

.229 

.313 

.396 

.479 

.563 

.646 

.729 

.813 

.896 

.979 

1%6 

..  .    .068 

.151 

.234 

.318 

.401 

.484 

.568 

.651 

.734 

.818 

.901 

.984 

^/S    . 

.  .  .    .073 

.156 

.240 

.323 

.406 

.490 

.573 

.656 

.740 

.823 

.906 

.990 

i-yi6 

..  .    .078 

.162 

.245 

.328 

.412 

.495 

.578 

.662 

.745 

.828 

.912 

.995 

Track  bolts  per  mile  of  single  track. 


Average  Number  in  a  Keg  of  200  Pounds 


Size 
of  Bolt 
Inches 

21/2  X  % 
2%  X  % 
3       X  % 

3  X  % 

314  X  % 

31/2  X  % 

3%  X  % 

4  X  % 
41/4  X  % 

31/2  X  ys 

3%  X  78 
4       X  "% 

41A  X  ys 

41/2  X  ys 
4%  X  ys 


Hexa-        Suitable 
Square     gonal  Rail 

Nut  Nut       Lbs  per  Yd. 


Kegs  per  Mile — Hex.  Nuts 

Add  6%  for  Square  Nuts 

30  Foot  Rails         33  Foot  Rails 

Joint       Holes        Joint    Holes 


390 
379 
366 
250 
243 
236 
229 
222 
215 
170 
165 
161 
157 
153 
149 


425 
410 
395 
270 
261 
253 
244 
236 
228 
180 
175 
170 
165 
160 
156 


30 
35 
40 


50 
55-60 
65-70 

75 


80 

85 

90-100 


3.31 
3.44 
3.58 
5.23 
5.40 
5.57 
5.77 
5.97 
6.18 
7.82 
8.05 
8.28 
8.53 
8.80 
9.02 


4.96 
5.16 
5.37 
7.85 
8.10 
8.36 
8.65 
8.95 
9.27 
11.7 
12.1 
12.4 
12.8 
13.2 
13.5 


3.01 
3.13 
3.26 
4.76 
4.91 
5.06 
5.25 
5.43 
5.62 
7.11 
7.32 
7.53 
7.75 
8.00 
8.20 


4.51 

4.70 
4.89 
7.14 
7.36 
7.59 
7.87 
8.15 
8.43 
10.7 
11.0 
11.3 
11.6 
12.0 
12.3 


To  find  gross  tons  of  rail  per  mile  of  track,  multi- 
ply weight  of  rail  in  pounds  per  yard  by  11  and  divide 
by  7. 

To  find  feet  of  rail  per  gross  ton,  divide  6,720  by 
weight  of  rail  per  yard. 

382 


To  find  the  weight  of  castings  by  the  weight  of 
their  patterns. 

Multiply  the  weight  of  the  white  pine  pattern  by 
16      for  cast  iron. 


17.1 

"  wrought  iron, 

17.3 

"  steel, 

18 

"  copper 

25 

"  lead. 

12.2 

"  tin. 

13 

"  brass, 

11.4 

"  zinc. 

Widening  of  gage  on  curves.  Rule  adopted  by  the 
A.  R.  E.  Assn.  in  1910,  is  as  follows : 

Standard  gage  for  everything  up  to  8°  of  curvature. 
Above  8°,  increase  %  in.  for  each  two  degrees  or  frac- 
tion thereof,  up  to  a  maximum  of  4'  91/2"?  correspond- 
ing to  a  23°  curve. 

Where  frogs  cannot  be  avoided  on  the  inside  of  the 
curve,  no  widening  of  gage  should  be  attempted,  but 
the  above  rule  must  be  modified  to  allow  standard  gage 
opposite  the  frog,  or  else  the  flangeway  of  the  frog 
should  be  widened  to  compensate  for  the  increased 
gage. 


383 


Lumber  table — Showing  number  of  feet,  board 
measure,  contained  in  a  piece  of  joist,  scantling  or 
timber  of  the  sizes  given. 

Size  in  Length  in  Feet  of  Joists,  Scantling  and  Timber 

Inches  12      14      16      18      20      22      24      26      28      30      42      44      45 


2X4 

.   8 

9 

11 

12 

13 

15 

16 

17 

19 

20 

28 

29 

30 

2X6 

.  12 

14 

16 

18 

20 

22 

24 

26 

28 

30 

42 

44 

45 

2X8 

.  16 

19 

21 

24 

27 

29 

32 

35 

37 

40 

53 

58 

60 

2  X  10 

.  20 

23 

27 

30 

33 

37 

40 

43 

47 

50 

70 

74 

75 

2  X  12 

.  24 

28 

32 

36 

40 

44 

48 

52 

56 

60 

84 

88 

90 

3X4 

.  12 

14 

16 

18 

20 

22 

24 

26 

28 

30 

42 

44 

45 

3X6 

.  18 

21 

24 

27 

30 

33 

36 

39 

42 

45 

63 

66 

68 

3X8 

.  24 

28 

32 

36 

40 

44 

48 

52 

56 

60 

84 

88 

90 

3  X  10 

.  30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

70 

75 

105 

110 

113 

3  X  12 

.  36 

42 

48 

54 

60 

66 

72 

78 

84 

90 

126 

132 

135 

4X4 

.  16 

19 

21 

24 

27 

29 

32 

35 

37 

40 

56 

58 

60 

4X6 

.  24 

28 

32 

36 

40 

44 

48 

52 

56 

60 

84 

88 

90 

4X8 

.  32 

37 

43 

48 

53 

59 

64 

69 

75 

80 

112 

118 

120 

4  X  10 

.  40 

47 

53 

60 

67 

73 

80 

87 

93 

100 

140 

146 

150 

4  X  12 

.  48 

56 

64 

72 

80 

88 

96 

104 

112 

120 

168 

176 

180 

6X6 

.  36 

42 

48 

54 

60 

66 

72 

78 

84 

90 

126 

132 

135 

6X8 

.  48 

56 

64 

72 

80 

88 

96 

104 

112 

120 

168 

176 

180 

6  X  10 

.  60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

110 

120 

130 

140 

150 

210 

220 

225 

6  X  12 

.  72 

84 

96 

108 

120 

132 

144 

156 

168 

180 

250 

265 

270 

8X8 

.  64 

75 

85 

96 

107 

117 

128 

139 

149 

160 

224 

234 

240 

8  X  10 

.  80 

93 

107 

120 

133 

147 

160 

173 

187 

200 

280 

294 

300 

8  X  12 

.  96 

112 

128 

144 

160 

176 

192 

208 

224 

240 

336 

352 

360 

10  X  10 

.100 

117 

133 

150 

167 

183 

200 

217 

233 

250 

350 

366 

375 

10  X  12 

.120 

140 

160 

180 

200 

220 

240 

260 

280 

300 

420 

440 

456 

12  X  12 

.144 

168 

192 

216 

240 

264 

288 

312 

336 

360 

504 

528 

500 

12  X  14 

.168 

196 

224 

252 

280 

308 

336 

364 

392 

420 

588 

616 

630 

14  X  14 

.196 

229 

261 

294 

327 

359 

392 

425 

457 

490 

686 

716 

735 

384 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Absence   from  Duty 

Accidents 

To  Trains    

Accommodations  for 

Track    Laying    

Account    for    Track    Ma- 
terial     

Adze 

Adzing     

Allowance  for   Expansion 
American  Railroad  Fence, 

Fig.   36    

Anchors,    Rail    

Anti-CreeperQ_   

On  Eads   Bridge 

Location    

Angle    Bars   and   Bolts .  . 
Axe    

Ballast    

Amount  of  Gravel  re- 
quired Per  Mile  of 
Track    

Burned   Clay    

Cinder    

Cleaning    with    Screens 

Compression    

Cost  of  Mechanical 
Tamping    

Cost  of  Screening 

Crushed    Stone    

Depth     

Displaced  by  Churning 
of   Ties    

Furnace    Slay    

Force  for  Screening. .  . 

Gang    16, 

Gravel    , , ,.,,... 


339      Ballast — continued 

331  Gravel   Pits    136 

337  In    Cuts     133 

In    Yards    352 

3  Mechanical    Tamping.  .    131 

Proper    Size   of    Tamp- 

343  ing  Face    133 

289  Tamping     130,  140 

316  Tamping  Broken  Stone 

146  or   Slag    141 

Tamping  Burnt  Clay.  .    140 
192           Tamping  Chats,  Gravel 
9  or   Chert    141 

165  Tamping   Cinder    140 

166  Tamping  Earth    140 

11  Uniform    Tamping    ...    130 

160       Ballasting     120 

289  Renewing    Ties     98 

Bark,     To     be     removed 
120  from  all  Timber 97 

Battered   Rails    335 

Bedding  Ties    4 

135       Benders,    Rail    233 

120      Bent    Splices    341 

120       Bill       of       Material       of 
123  Switch-ties   for   vari- 

158  ous      Turnouts      and 

Cross-overs    271 

132      Black        Locust,        Fence 

129  Posts    193 

120      Blacksmith   Shop   Outfit.        3 
139       Blasting  Rocks    248 

Board  Fences  188 

158       Boards,      Table     showing 
120  no.  required  per  Mile  189 

128      Bois  d'Arc,  Fence  Posts.    193 
138      Bolts,     Nut     Locks     for 

120  Tightening    73 

387 


388 


INDEX 


Bolts,   Tightening    71 

Boring     Ties     by     Hand, 

Method     63 

Rate    and    Cost 66 

Bridges,    Line    on 74 

Repairing    74 

Special  Rail  Section  to 
prevent    Creeping   on 

Bridges    176 

Bridges       and       Culverts 

Heaved    by    Frost.  .  .   211 

Broken  Center  Pins 327 

Broken     Stone     or     Slag 

Ballast,   Tamping    .  .    141 

Brown  Rail  Loader 17 

Bucking  Snow   217 

Building   Fences    185 

Burned  Clay  Ballast 120 

Tamping    140 

Calculation    of    Elevation 

on    Curves    230 

Camp  Cars    369 

Car    Tra/cks,    Metliod    of 

Squaring     324 

In  Ditch    325 

On    Soft   Ground 325 

Cars,     Loaded     Wrecked 

Cars      326 

Cars  on  Ties 325 

Cards,    Time    Cards    and 

Rules     346 

Care       of       interlocking 

Switches    359 

Catalpa,    Fence    Posts...    193 

Cedar,    Fence   Posts 192 

Center   Pins,   Broken ....    327 

Centrifugal  Force   226 

Centripetal  Force   227 

Chain,    used    in    pulling 

with  Locomotive    .  .  .    327 

Change    in    Line 13 

Channels    for    Conveying 

Water    78 

Chart,  Annual  Consump- 


Cliart — continued 

tion  of  Ties  on  I.  C. 

R.    R HI 

Chestnut,    Fence    Posts..    193 
Ties 50 

Churning  of  Ties  and 
Displacing  of  Bal- 
last         158 

Cinder    Ballast    120 

Tamping    140 

Cinders  to  keep  Muskrats 

from   Burrowing    ...      79 

Classified  Rules  for 
Safety  and  Mainte- 
nance        366 

Claw   Bars    299 

Clay,  Wet  Clay  in  Em- 
bankment          82 

Cleaning  out  Cuts 183 

Cleaning  out  Ditches.  ...      76 

Cleaning     Stone     Ballast 

with    Screens    123 

Cleaning     the     Right     of 

Way    181 

Clearing  W^ater  Passages  340 

Closing   up    for   Trains.  .    146 

Cold    Chisels    299 

Compression    of    Ballast.    158 

Concrete,  Cost  of  Con- 
crete   Fences    202 

Concrete    Post    Machine, 

Fig.    39    204 

Concrete  Posts.  Rein- 
forcement,  Fig.  40    .   205 

Concrete  Proportions    ...    201 

Concrete  Sign  Posts,  De- 
tails of.  Fig.   37 198 

Conditions    on    Mountain 

Roads 242 

Conlev     All     Rail     Frog, 

Fig.   57    266 

Connections,        Minimum 

Length  of  Rail 14 

Conveying    Water     away 

from    Tracks    78 

Creeping,      Anti-Creepers 

in  Eads  Bridge 165 


INDEX 


389 


Creeping — continued 

Diagram  explaining 
Fig.   30    168 

English  Rail  Sections 
to    Prevent    Creeping  175 

Location  of  Preventive 
Devices     11 

Means  of  Restrict- 
ing      174,  169 

Rail     9,  162 

The  Relative  cost  of 
Maintenance  of  im- 
anchored  Track  & 
anchored  to  prevent 
Creeping    178 

Special  Rail  Section  to 
prevent    Creeping   on 

Bridges    176 

Creosoting  Ties    62 

Cross   Cut   Saws 299 

Cross-Over,    Distance    be- 
tween   Frog^  Points .    278 

Bill  of  Material  of  Ties  271 

Tracks      278 

Crossing   Frogs    267 

Crossing     of     Narrow     & 
Standard  Gage 

Track    285 

Crushed  Stone   120 

Culverts     80 

Heaved  Bridges  and 
Culverts    211 

Removing   Snow    213 

Curve,      Calculation      of 

Elevation     230 

Diagram  showing 
Method  of  Lining, 
Fig.   48    239 

Difference  in  Length 
between  Inner  and 
Outer   Rails    225 

Easements     241 

Effect  of  Speed  on  Ele- 
vation       227 

Elements  of  Fig.   43..   224 

Run    Off    240 


Curves — continued 

Table   of    Elevation    of 
Outer  Rail  in  Inches  232 
Curves,  Centrifugal  Force  226 
Centripetal    Force     . .  .   227 

Elevation     226 

Geometrical    Properties  221 

Laying   Out    221 

Lining    238 

Method  of  Spiking 45 

Printed        Information 

for    Foremen    236 

To  Lay  out  a  Curve  by 

Offsets    221 

Turnouts  from     277 

Use  of   Short   Rails..  .      12 
Curved    Track,    Effect    of 
Locomotive    and    Car 

Wheels   upon    240 

Curving    Rails     231 

Cuts,   Grading    80 

Protection   from  Drift- 
ing  Snow    214 

Snow   in    Cuts 212 

Wet    79 

Cutting   Rails    352 

Cutting   Weeds    116 

Damage  by  Fire 355 

Danger  Signals,  Disre- 
gard of    348 

Distance    at    which    to 
set  345 

"Dead   Man"    ......   327 

Deep    Cuts    79 

Deflections     for     100     ft. 

Chord,    Table   of 222 

Depth   for    Ballast 139 

Derailer,        Mechanically 

Operated    362 

Derailing    Switches    ....    276 
Details  of  Concrete  Sign 

Posts,   Fig.  37 198 

Details  of  Line  &  Corner 
Fence  Posts  and 
Braces,  Fig.  38 200 


390 


INDEX 


Difference  in  Length  be- 
tween the  inner  and 
outer      Rails     of     a 

Curve    225 

Different      Varieties      of 

Ties    351 

Dimensions   of   Ties 90 

Direction  of  Rolling  Re- 
sistance,   Fig.    31 . .  .    172 

Discharges     330 

Disconnected  Track,  Lin- 
ing        341 

Distance  between  Frog 
Points  in  a  Cross- 
Over    278 

Distance  to  Set  out  Dan- 
ger   Signals    345 

Distribution  of  New  Ties     92 
Disregard  of  Danger  Sig- 
nals        348 

Ditching,    Template    ....      77 

Ditches,   Cleaning    76 

Form    76 

Grade     76 

Removing   Snow    213 

Protective     77 

Ditching    75 

Don'ts    372 

Double    Tracking,    Force 

required     32 

Drainage   75 

Of  High   Fills 81 

Drifting  Snow,  Protec- 
tion against    214 

Drifts,       Preparing       for 

Snow  Plow   219 

Drills,  Standard  Track..   311 
Duplicate    Time   Books..   342 


Easements   on   Curves...   241 
Economy      in      Use      of 
Treated       and       Un- 
treated Ties    114 

Economy      in      Use      of 

Treated  Ties    112 


Effect  of  \A'ave  Motion  on 
Rail.  Tendency  of 
Rail  to  work  into 
Face  of  Tie 160 

Effect  of  Wave  motion  of 
Rail,    Injury    to    the 

Rail    159 

Injury  to  the  Road  Bed  159 
Raising    of    Spikes....    160 
Wear    of    Angle    Bars 
and  Bolts    160 

Effect  of  Speed  on  Eleva- 
tion       227 

Effect  of  Locomotive  & 
Car  Wheels  on 
Curved    Track    240 

Effects  of  Wave  Motion 
of  Rail  on  Track 
Movements    157 

Elements      of      Railroad 

Curve,    Fig.    43 224 

Elevation,      Effected     by 

Speed    227 

How    to    Calculate    on 

Curves    230 

Of  Curves   226 

Of  Outer  Rail  on  Curve 
in  Inches 232 

Embankments,  Should 
not  be  robbed  of  Dirt 
or    Ballast    to    trim 

the  Track    182 

Protection         of,         on 
Mountain   Roads    .  .  .   249 

Emergency    Rails    339 

End  Door  Cars,  Device 
for  Unloading  Rails 
from,    28 

Engines,    Wrecked    328 

Equipment,    Special    ....    369 

Examining  Track    334 

Expansion  and  Contrac- 
tion           7 

Allowance    for    Expan- 
sion        146 

Of  Rails   145 


INDEX 


391 


Expansion — continued 
Of   Rails  on   Mountain 

Roads    246 

Explosives,       Rules       for 

Handling 371 

Extra  Men    340 

Extra  Work 336 

Extremes  of  Temperature  332 

Fall  Track  Work 180 

Fences    185 

Board    Fences    188 

Corner,    Fig.    34 186 

Comparative    Cost    and 
Serviceability  of 

Wood       and        Steel 

Posts    191 

Cost  of  Concrete  Posts  202 
Cost    of    setting   Wood 

Posts    195 

Day's    Labor    for    One 

Man    in    building.  .  .    191 
Fastening       Wire       on 
Grooved    Posts,    Fig. 

41      207 

Fences,  Machine  for  Mak- 
ing   Concrete    Posts, 

Fig.   39    204 

Method     of     Fastening 
Wire        on        Round 

Posts,  Fig.   42 208 

Method  of  Molding  Re- 
inforced Concrete 

Posts    202 

Portable    Snow    Fence, 

Fig.   49    245 

Posts,  Cost  &  Life 193 

Posts,    details    of    Line 
&  Corner  Fence  Posts 
and  Braces,  Fig.  38.   200 
Posts       required       per 

Mile      189 

Protection    from    Fire.   338 

Rate   of   Building 191 

Snow    Fences     189 

Snow    214 


Fences — continued 

Standard     Fence,     Fig. 

35    187 

Steel    Posts    194 

Table    showing    no.    of 

Boards   required    ...  189 

Weight   of  Wire 190 

Weight  of  Nails 190 

Wood  Posts    192 

Woven  Wire 191 

Fills,   Drainage    81 

Fire,    Damage   by 355 

Protection,  against   .  .  .  354 

Flags    306 

Flanging  Track    212 

Flanger       with       Rotary 

Plow     244 

Foot  Guard,  Fig.  84 361 

Form  of  Ditches 76 

Forms,    printed    343 

Foreman,  Double  Track- 
ing      38 

Foreman's  Report  of  Ties 

put    in    Track 105 

Foremen,    Two    Kinds ...  97 

Reports    344 

Forwarding  Material    ...  16 
Force,  Required  for  Dou- 
ble  Tracking    32 

For  Track  laying 17 

For   Track   laying  Ma- 
chine       24 

For    Laying    a    Single 

Rail    '. 144 

Screening  Ballast    ....  128 

Frog,    Fig.    56 265 

Frogs,  and  Switches,  Bill 
of  Material  for  vari- 
ous     Turnouts      and 

Cross-Overs     271 

And    Switches    255 

Crossing    267 

Conley   All   Rail   Frog, 

Fig.   57    266 

Guard  Rails    268,  269 

In    Ladder   Track 286 


392 


IXDEX 


Frogs — continued 

Length     267 

Laying     267 

Xumber,     how      a.^cer- 

tained    2S7 

Points,  to  find  distance 

between    27S 

Furnace   Slag   Ballast.  .  .  120 

Gage     16 

Tie     6,  94 

Gaging.    Rails    145 

Track     60 

Gasoline      Speeder,      Fig. 

69 298 

Gasoline  Torch  for  Thaw- 
ing interlocking  con- 
nections       219 

General    Winter    Work..  209 
Geometrical  Properties  of 

Curves     221 

Grade  of  Ditches 76 

Grading  Cuts   80 

Gravel.   Ballast    120 

For  One  Mile  of  Track.  135 

Pits    136 

Plow,   to   put   back   on 

Cars   when   wrecked.  32C 

Guard  Eail.  Fig.  55 265 

Guard   P^ils    268,  269 

Hand  Cars    290 

And    Speeders    203 

Correct    and    Inc-orrect 
Position  of  Axle,  Fig. 

67    294 

Gasoline    Speeder,    Fig. 

69    298 

Houses   349 

Leaving,  on   Track ....  350 

Single  Speeder.  Fig.  68.  297 

Handling  Men    378 

Hardwood   Ties    50 

Heaved  Bridges  and  Cul- 
verts    211 

Heavy      Traffic,      Laying 

Rails  under    149 


Hewn  Ties    88 

High  Fills.  Drainage 81 

High  Places   130 

High  Praising 134 

Highway     Crossing.     Ex- 
amination   of   Ties.  .     98 
Holes  for  Screw  Spikes.  .      52 

Conclusions 56 

Hot  Blast  Gasoline  Torch 
for  Thawing  inter- 
locking   Connections.   219 

Ice,    to    be   cleaned   from 

Rails    244 

Industrial  Railway.  Turn- 
outs      for       Xarrow 

Gage   Track    281 

Injured  Signals   347 

Inspecting  Ties    92 

Inspection,    and    L'se    of 

Tools    370 

Of  Track   362 

Of  Ties.  Responsibility 
for,       on        Various 

Roads 101 

Of  Ties    100 

Interlocking   Connections, 
thawing     with     Hot 
Blast  Gasoline  Torch  219 
Switches,  Care  of 359 

Jacks    309 

Jim  Crow   311 

Joint  Plate  Peddler 35 

Joint  Ties   96 

Locating    6 

Joints,  Low  Joints 333 

Effect  of  Cold 8 

To  remedy  too  wide  an 
Opening  at  the  Joints  183 

Ladder  Track,  Location  of 

Frogs   286 

Land  Slides 248 

Lanterns    301 


IXDEX 


393 


Laying   Track    1,  5 

By  Machines    1 

Lavinc^   the   Rails 6 

Laying  Rails  in  Sag....      12 

Laying.   Xew   Rail 144 

Lading  Rail  under  Heaw 

Traffic     ■.    149 

Laying  Force  required.  .  .  17 
Laying.  Cost  by  Hand.  .  .  41 
Laving  bv  Machine,  Cost 

* 20,     40 

Laying  by  Machine,  Cost 

and  Organization    .  .      38 
Laving      Second      Track. 

'  Cost 41 

Laying  out  Curves 221 

Laying  Frogs 267 

Laying  iSwitches    260 

Leads.    Table    for    Points 

Leads    264 

Table  of  Switch  Leads.    262 
Leaving    Hand -Cars    on 

Tracks    350 

Lining  Bars    300 

Length,  Difference  in 
Length  Ijetween  In- 
ner  and  Outer  Rails 

of  a  Curve 225 

Levels    120 

Track   307 

Level  Track  in  Yards...    135 

Life  of   Steel   Rail 143 

Lining.   Old   Track 70 

Curves    238 

Disconnected   Track    . .   341 

Xew  Track    15 

Line  on  Bridges 74 

Loading    and    Unloading 

Material     370 

Loading  Tools.  Cars.  Etc.  351 

Locating  Joint  Ties 6 

Location,  of  Anti-Creep- 
ers           11 

Of  Hand  Car  and  Tool 

Houses   349 

Of  Signs    347 


Location — continued 
Of  Whistling  Posts  and 

Signs    347 

Locomotives,       L'sed       in 

Bucking  Snow   218 

Locust.  Fence  Posts 193 

Locks.  Xut    74 

Long    Leaf    Yellow    Pine 

Ties     50 

Loose   Spikes    61 

L*jw  Joints 333 

Machines      for       Cutting 

Screw  Spike  Holes .  .     53 
For    flaking    Concrete 

Posts.   Fig.  39 204 

Maintenance.       Classified 

Rules  for 366 

Cost  of  Unanchored 
Track  and  Track  an- 
chored     to      prevent 

Creeping    178 

List  of  Tools  for 31 

Making  Connections   ....      14 
^Marking     Ties     for     Re- 
newal        106 

Marking   Ties   Inspected.    100 

Material  Ac-count    343 

Ordering    342 

Material  for  Track  Laying       2 

Forwarding     16 

Loading  and  Unloading  370 
Mechanical  Tamping  ....    131 

Cost    132 

Mechanicallv         operated 

Derails!    Fig.    85 362 

Men.  Haudlinof 378 

Extra    r 340 

Working  Xew  Men 339 

Middle        Ordinates        in 
Inches     for     Curving 

Rails     235 

^Miscellaneous  Hints   ....   276 

Monkev    Wrenches    308 

Motor '  Cars    292 

Mountain  Roads    246 


394 


INDEX 


Nails,  Weight    190 

Narrow-Gage  Track  cross- 
ing Standard   285 

Narrow-Gage  Track, 

Turnouts   for    281 

Narrow  Embankments   .  .  182 

Neat   Stations    341 

New  Men.  Working 339 

New    Rail,    Laving 144 

New  Ties,  Distribution .  .  92 

New   Track,    Lining 15 

LTse   of    Gage 16 

Nut  Locks   73,  74 

Offsets,  Used  to  lay  out  a 

Curve   .' 221 

Oiling    Eoad    Bed 116 

Old  Track  Lining 70 

Orders    353 

Ordering  Tools  or  Mate- 
rials        342 

Ordinates      for      a      100 

chord.  Table  of 222 

Opening  Ditches  and  Cul- 
verts        213 

Opening     at    the    Joints, 

How  to  Remedy 183 

Pioneer  Car    21 

Pipe  Culverts 80 

Piling    Ties    92 

Plates,  Tie   51,  315 

Plow,  To  Put  a  Wrecked 
Gravel  Plow  back  on 

Cars    326 

Plowing  Snow    218 

Point  leads.  Table 264 

Pole  Tie    88 

Pony  Car    . 310 

Portable      Snow      Fence, 

Fig.   49    245 

Portable    Rail    Saw,    Fig. 

82    353 

Posts,    and    Signs,    Rein- 
forced Concrete    ....    196 
Comparative   Cost   and 


Posts — continued 

Serviceability  of 

Wood       and       Steel 

Fence  Posts    191 

Cost   and  Life 193 

Cost  of  Concrete  Fence 

Posts    202 

Details     of     Line     and 
Corner    Fence    Posts 

and  Braces    200 

Fastening     Wire     on 
Round     Posts,      Fig. 

42    208 

Fastening       Wire       on 
Grooved    Posts,    Fig. 

41    207 

For   Marking  Property 

Lines    199 

Method  of  Molding  Re- 
inforced Concrete 

Fence  Posts    202 

Location    of    Whistling 

Posts  and  Signs ....   347 
Reinforced  Concrete   .  .    196 

Required  Per  Mile 189 

Wood,  Life  of 192 

Practical        Hints        for 

Trackmen    364 

Preparing  Drifts   219 

Preserving    Ties    49 

Printed    Forms    343 

Property   Line   Posts....    199 

Protect*  Fences    338 

Protecting    Embankments  249 
Protection,  against  Fire.   354 

Of  Men    213 

Protective   Ditches    77 

Pulling    on    a    Chain    or 

Rope     327 

Q.   &    C.    Sprinkling   Car, 

Section  and  Plan...    117 
Quarter  Tie    88 

Radii,  Ordinates  and  De- 
flections for  a  100 
foot  Chord    222 


INDEX 


395 


Rail  Benders    233 

Rail  Saw,  Portable,  Fig. 

^   .,82    353 

Rail,  Anchors    9 

Anti- Creepers   165 

Benders    311 

Creeping 9 

Gang,     Double     Track- 
ing          34 

Held    Vertical    by    Tie 

Plates     321 

Injured    by    Eflfects    of 

Wave  Motion   159 

Laying     Under     Heavy 

Traffic    149 

Laying  Gang    144 

Life  of  143 

Location        of        Anti- 
Creepers    11 

Machine  for  Handling.      17 
Means     of     Restricting 

Creeping    I74 

Push    .^ .    173 

Restricting  Creeping  .  .    169 
Sections  used  on  Steam 

Roads 147 

Sections   146 

Standard    Sections    for 

Steam  Roads   I53 

Standard   Sections.  150,  151 
Scarcity    of    Rails    for 

Pepair    335 

Surface  Bent    332 

Superior  Reversible 

Bender,    Fig.    46 234 

Vauglian    Bender,    Fig. 

45    233 

Wave  Motion  Cause  of 

Creeping    168 

Rails,  Allowance  for  Ex- 
pansion        146 

Battered    335 

Car  for   Carrying 15 

Closing   up   for   Trains 

during  Renewal 146 

Creeping    I63 


Rails — continued 

S"™g   231 

Cutting    352 

Device    for    Unloading 

from  End  Door  Car.      28 

Rails,  Emergency    339 

Expansion    . , 145 

Expansion  on  Mountain 

^  I^pads     246 

^^g^ng 145 

Laying    g 

Loading  and  Unloading     10 
Of  Different  Height...    338 

Renewal  of   142 

Rate  of  Unloading.  ...      19 

Surface  Bent    332 

Scarcity    of    rails    for 

Repair    335 

Table  of  Weight.  '.  .  .  .  .    147 
To  be  kept  clear  of  Ice  244 
Table   of   Middle   Ordi- 
nates    in    Inches    for 

Curving   235 

Wear  of jgj 

Weight  of   ,[[[    142 

Raising  Track    [][    134 

Ratchet,  Bit 311 

Drills     3J2 

Rate  of  Unloading  Rails.      19 

Record,  Section    379 

Records  of  Renewals 106 

Red  Cedar  Fence  Posts..    192 
Reinforced  Concrete  Posts 

and  Signs    106 

Reinforcement     for     Con- 
crete Posts,  Fig.  40.    205 
Renewals,  Saving  in  Ties  315 

Renewal  of  Rails 142 

Renewals   of  Ties 86 

Renewal  Methods  on  Va- 
rious Roads    98 

Renewals,    Order   of 96 

Renewing  Ties   94 

When  Ballasting 98 

Repairing  Track    70 

Repairing   Bridges    74 


396 


INDEX 


Repairs,   Winter    209 

Scarcity  of  Rails  for .  .    335 

Replace  Signals 346 

Reports    340 

Of   Accidents    331 

Report  Stock  killed 354 

Reports,  of  Section  Fore- 
man       344 

Report    of    Ties    put    in 

Track    105 

Of    Ties    taken    out    of 
Track    106 

Report  of  Ties  taken  out 
of  Track,  Boston  and 
Albany  form 108 

Report,  Amount  of  Snow  211 

Respiking  Ties 61 

Responsibility,   Source  of  359 
For   inspection   of   Ties 
on   Various    Roads.  .    101 

Restricting   Creeping    ...    169 

Road  Bed  Section  for  Cut 
and  Fill,  B.  &  0.  R. 
R 127 

Road    Bed   Sections,    Fig. 

23    139 

Road  Bed,  Injured  by  the 
Effects  of  ^Yave  Mo- 
tion         159 

Road  Crossing,  Gates  and 

Fences    369 

Rocks,      Blasting     Rocks 

that  roll  upon  Track  248 

Rolling  Resistance,  Table 

of .    173 

Rope  used  in  pulling  with 

Locomotive    327 

Rotary  Plow  and  Flanger  244 

Rules' 346,  347 

Classified,     for     Safety 
and  Maintenance   .  .  .    366 

Run  off,  Of  Curve 240 

Safety,    Classified    Rules 

for     366 

First    364 


Sag,    ^lethod    of    Laying 

Rails   in   Sag 12 

Saturated  Clay  in  Em- 
bankment        82 

Saw,  Portable  Rail  Saw, 

Fig.   82    353 

Scaffolding    370 

Screens       for       Cleaning 

Stone  Ballast 123 

Screening    Ballast,    Force  128 

Cost    129 

Screw  Spikes,  Conclusions  56 
Screw  Spikes  Holes,  Cost  54 
Screw     Spikes,     Cost     of 

Applying    54 

Holes  for  52 

Screw  Spikes 46,     52 

Experience   in  Use.  ...      48 
Seasoned     Ties,     Cost    of 

Treating    113 

Section    Record    379 

Section  Foreman's  Re- 
ports        344 

Section   of  Rails 146 

Sections,  Standard  Rail 
Section      for      Steam 

Roads     153 

Section  of  Road  Bed  for 

Cut  and  Fill 127 

Sections  of  Rail  used  on 

Steam   Roads    147 

Second     Track,     Cost     of 

Laying  by  Machine.  .     40 
Cost  of  Laying  by  Hand     41 

Shims     '......' 145 

Shimming  Track   209 

Short  Rails  for  Curves..      12 

Shovels    302 

Various  Types,  Fig.  70 .   305 

Shoveling  .  .' 303 

Side     Tracks,     Snow     on 

Side  Tracks    211 

Sign,  Reinforced  Con- 
crete       196 

Sign  Posts,  Details  of 
Concrete  Sign  Posts, 
Fig.   37    198 


INDEX 


397 


Signs,   Location   of 347 

Signals,       Disregard       of 

Danger  Signals    348 

Distance    at    which    to 
act   Danger   Signals.   345 

Injured    347 

On  Trains   345 

Sight  Boards .    *   312 

Slides,    Land    Slides    on 

Mountain  Roads    .  .      248 

Sliding  a  Car  on  a  Tie.  .    326 

Snow   Fences    ..244,  214,  189 

Portable,    Fig.   49 ....  .'  245 

Snow  Walls    214 

Snow,  Bucking 217 

Flanging  Track   !  .    212 

In  Cuts   212 

Opening     Ditches     and 

Culverts     213 

On  Side  Tracks.. .....   211 

Plowing     218 

Preparing  Drifts   ....[   219 

Protection   of^-Men 213 

Protection  against 

Drifting     214 

Protection    against,    on 

Mountain   Roads    .  .  .    243 
Report  on  Amount.  ...    211 
Special  Equipment    ...        369 
Special    Rail    Section    to 
Prevent   Creeping  on 

^       Bridges    176 

Special      Conditions      on 

Mountain  Roads    .  .  .   242 

Species  of  Track  Ties 87 

Specifications,  Tie  Plates     55 
Speed,    Effect    on    Eleva- 
tion         227 

Speeders    293 

Speeder,     Gasoline,     Fig. 


69 


298 


Speeder.   Fig.   68 297 

Spike  Pullers *  .  .  312 

Hammers     301 

Spikes,  Drawing    44 

Loose gj 


43 


es — continued 

No.  per  Mile 

Raised  by  AVave  Motion 

^  of   Rail    iQQ 

Screw   Spikes    46 

Sizes *     40 

Where  to  Drive .  .  .*  44 

^  ^f  ^^r   of    ; :    161 

Spiking    ^3 

Correct    and    Incorrect 

Method     45 

Comparative     Cost     of 
Cut   and   Screw. .  .  47 

Splices,   Bent    '   34^ 

Spot  Board   "  '  '    121 

Spotting  Method   of   Dis- 

tributing  New   Ties.      92 

Spring  Work    ^7 

Spurring   out    Cars,    Fig. 

'^3    260 

Staggered    Switch   Points 

on  Any  Curve .  .  979 

Standard  Frog,  Fig.  56.  265 
•standard  Fence,  Fig.  35  187 
Standard  Rail  Sections.. 

For  Steam  Roads..  .  153 
Stations,      To     be     Kept 

Neat   ....  041 

Steel   Car    .....■.■.■.■.;:;;  15 

Steel    Posts     '  "  194 

Stock    killed    to    be    Re- 
ported      354 

Straight  Edge   ......  ' ."  .'  '4 

Strap  Hangers   35 


Storms 


Striking 
Summer 


69 


Hammer    312 

Track   Work..'.'  86 

Surface   Bent   Rails 332 

Surface    Ditches    81 

Superior    Reversible    Rail 

Bender,    Fig.    46 234 

Switch,    Sketch    of.    Fig 


00 


282 


Stands    330 

Timbers   ]   270 


398 


INDEX 


Switches,  Derailing 276 

And   Frogs    255 

Care     of     Interlocking 

Switches    359 

Laying     260 

Three-throw    275 

Throwing    350 

Switch      Ties,      To      cut 

Proper  Length 274 

Tamping    275 

Switch  Points,   Staggered 

on   any   Curve 279 

Switch  Leads 262 

Tamping,   Ballast 130,  140 

Bars    306 

Broken    Stone   or    Slag 

Ballast     141 

Burnt   Clay  Ballast. .  .    140 
Chats  Gravel  or   Chert 

Ballast     141 

Cinder  Ballast 140 

Cost    with    Compressed 

Air    132 

Earth   or   Clav  Ballast  140 

Mechanical    131 

Tamping,  Proper  Size  of 
Face  with  Different 
Kinds  of  Ballast.  ...  133 
Tools  and  Methods 
recommended  by  the 
American  Railway 
Engineering  Associa- 
tion         140 

Switch  Ties    275 

Tape  Line   306 

Telegraph    Office    Report.   349 

Telegraph  Wires   332 

Temporary  Turnouts 

without      Frogs      or 

Switches    256 

Temperature,  Extremes  of  332 
Templet,  For  boring  Ties 

for  Tie  Plates 64 

Template,  Ditching 77 


Thawing  Interlocking 

Connections    219 

Thiee-throw  Switches  .  .  .   275 

Throwing  Switches    350 

Tidy    Tool   House 289 

Tie,   Bedding    4 

Inspection    92 

Pole    88 

Quarter    88 

Renewals   96 

Slab    88 

Sections   89 

Sizes 91 

Uneven     88 

Tie  Plates  51 

Specifications     ..?....     55 

Tie  Fiddlers   33 

Tie   Spacers    33 

Tie   Trams    22 

Tie  Gage   6,     94,     95 

Tie,  Annual  Consumption 

shown   by   Chart.  ...    Ill 
Bill     of     Material     of 

Switch  Ties 271 

Boring  by  Hand 63 

Creosoting     62 

Chestnut    50 

Cost  of  Treating  Sea- 
soned        113 

Comparative  Cost  of 
Treating  Seasoned 
and  L^nseasoned  ....    112 

Consumption     110 

Churning  and  Displac- 
ing Ballast   15}» 

Different    Varieties    at 

the   Same  Time 351 

Dimensions  of    90 

Economv     in     Use     of 

Treated    112 

Hard   Wood    50 

Hewn    88 

In    Highwav    Crossings     98 

Joint     ^ 6,     96 

Long  Leaf  Yellow  Pine     50' 
Life    of    87: 


INDEX 


399 


Tie — continued 

Methods  of   Preserving     49 
Method  of  Replacing  in 
Single  Track  Tunnel, 

Fig.   50    253 

Ties,  Piling 92 

Respiking    61 

Requirements   of    54 

Records  of  Renewals.  .    lOG 

Renewals    86,  106 

Renewal     Methods     on 

Various    Roads    ....     98 
Responsibility    for    In- 
spection   on    Various 

Roads     101 

Renewing     94 

Renewing     when     Bal- 
lasting         98 

Remove   Bark   from. .  .      97 
Species  of  Wood  Used.     87 

Size    87 

Sawn    ....  .-T^ •.  .  .     88 

Treated,   Use   in  Track 

Laying   Machine    ...      20 
Taken     out    of     Track, 
Boston      &      Albany 
form  of  Reporting.  .  .    108 
Tamping  Switch  Ties .  .   275 
To     Cut     Switch     Ties 

Proper  Length   274 

Unseasoned,      Cost      of 

Treating    113 

Used  without   Plates..    320 
Used      as      Temporary 

Snow   Fence    216 

Wood  Suitable  for ...  .      54 

Tie   Plates    315 

Gage     321 

Information       required 

when    Ordering    ....   323 
Necessary    Features    of 
a  Good  Tie  Plate ...   322 

Punching     322 

Rail   held  Vertical....    321 

Surface    of    Ties 320 

Types  of    317 


Tie   Plates — continued 

Various  Types,  Fig.  77.  316 

Tightening  Bolts 71 

Time   Cards    346 

Time  Books  in  Duplicate  342 

Time  Keeping    342 

Timbers  for  Switch 270 

Tools,   Adze    289 

Axe     289 

Cold    Chisels    299 

Cross   Cut   Saws 299 

Claw   Bars    299 

Drills,  Standard  Track  311 

Drawing  Knives    309 

For  Track  Laying 2 

For  Tamping    140 

Grindstone    309 

Hand  Car    290 

Hand  Axes    309 

Inspection  and  Use  of.  370 

Jim  Crow   311 

Lanterns    301 

Lining  Bars    300 

Loaning   351 

Maintenance   31 

Monkey  Wrenches 308 

Motor    Cars    292 

Ordering    342 

Portable  Rail  Saw 353 

Pony  Car    310 

Ratchet  Drills    311 

Ratchet  Bit    311 

Rail   Benders   and   Jim 

Crow    311 

Shipping  Track  Tools .  .  345 

Spike  Pullers   312 

Sight  Boards    312 

Striking  Hammer    ....  312 

Shovels    302 

Spike  Hammers 301 

Track  Jacks   309 

Track   Wrenches    307 

Track  Level    307 

Tape  Lines    306 

Track  Flags   306 

Tamping  Bars    306 


400 


INDEX 


Tools — continued 

Track   Gage    299 

Use  and  Care  of 289 

Various  Types  of  Shov- 
els,   Fig.    70 305 

Weed  Cutting 118 

Wooden  Handles   313 

Tool  House   289 

Tool  Man.  Double 

Tracking    36 

Tool  Houses    349 

Torch  for  Thawing  Inter- 
locking  Connections.    219 

Track    Inspection    362 

Track  Material  Account.    343 

Trespassers   338 

Train   Accidents    .......   337 

Treated  Ties,  Use  in 
Tracklaying  Ma- 
chine         20 

Trains,  To  be  provided 
for  during  Ballast- 
ing        134 

Trams,    System    of 21 

Train,    for    Track    laying 

Machine     21 

Track   Gage    299 

Track  Laying,  Accommo- 
dations for    3 

Machine,  Cost  with. 20,     40 
Machine,    Make   up    of 

Train    21 

Machine,  General 

Track   Conditions    .  .     26 
Machine,     Organization 

of  Gang   24 

Truck,   To   square   a   Car 

Truck     324 

Tunnels .   251 

Tunnel.  Keplacing  Ties  in 

Tunnel,  Fig.  50 253 

Turnout,     Plan    of,    Fig. 

61    284 

Method  of  Placing 261 

Without        Frog        or 
Points,   Fig.   52 259 


Turnouts    255 

Bill     of     Material     for 

Ties 271 

From   Curves    277 

For  Narrow-gage  Track 
on  Industrial  Rail- 
way        281 

Temporary  Turnouts 
without      Frogs      or 

Switches    256 

Tvpical  Guard  Rail,  Fig. 

55    265 

Typical  Ties  in  Plan  and 

Section     89 

Uniform  Tamping 130 

Uneven    Ties    88 

Unloading    and    Loading 

Rails    10 

Unloading,  Device  for  Un- 
loading   Rails    from 

End  Door  Car 28 

L^seasoned      Ties.      Cost 

of   Treating    113 

Use    and    Care   of    Track 

Tools    289 

Washouts.     On  Mountain 

Roads     247 

Washouts    68 

Wave  Motion.     Cause  of 

Creeping,   Fig.   30..  .  168 
Effect   of   Track   Move- 
ments      157 

Of  Track  under  Wheel, 

Fig.    25    157 

Water    Supply  on   Moun- 
tain Roads    246 

Water    Passages    340 

Water  Stations   337 

Weight  of  Rails,  Table..  147 

Weight  of  Steel  Rails...  142 

Weight  of   Fence  Wire..  190 

Weight  of  Nails 190 

Wet  Cuts    79 

Wear    of    Rails 161 

Wear    of    Spikes 161 


INDEX 


401 


Weeds,  Tools  for  Cutting  118 

Cleaning  up   in  Fall..  181 

Cutting    116 

Wheels,  Effect  on  Curved 

Traclv     240 

White  Oak  Fence  Posts.  193 

White  Cedar  Fence  Posts  192 
Whistling       Posts       and 

Signs,  Location    ....  347 
Wire,  Method  of  Fasten- 
ing on  Round  Posts, 

Fig.   42    208 

Method  of  Fastening  on 
Grooved    Posts,    Fig. 

41    207 

Weight  of  Fence  Wire..  190 

Wires,   Telegraph    332 

Winter   Work    209 

Woods  Suitable  for  Ties.  54 
Wood,    Species    used    for 

Ties    87 


Wood — continued 

Fence   Posts 192 

Wooden  Handles   313 

Work,    in    Tunnels 251 

Work    Train    Service 358 

Working   New   Men 339 

Wrecked   Engines    328 

Wrecking    324 

Cars  off  on  Ties 325 

Wrecks     337 

Wrenches,  Monkey    308 

Wrenches,    Track    307 

Woven  Wire  Fences 191 

Yard  Foremen    341 

Yards,   Ballast  for 352 

Tracks   in   Yard   to   be 
Level     135 

Yard    Tracks,    How    Lev- 
elled         136 

Yellow       Locust       Fence 

Posts    193 


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HANDBOOK  OF  ROCK  EXCAVATION,   METHODS  AND   COST 

By  H.  P.  Gillette 

Handbook    size   and   binding,    illustrated    $5.00 

Best  modern  practice  in  drilling  and  handling  rock  of  all  kinds, 
under  all  conditions,  illustrating  the  latest  machines  and  methods, 
with  costs  of  actual  work  done.      840  pages. 

Chapters:  I,  Rocks  and  Their  Properties;  II,  Methods  and  Cost 
of  Hand  Drilling;  III,  Drill  Bits,  Shape,  Sharpening  and  Temper- 
ing; IV,  Machine  Drills  and  Their  Use;  V,  Cost  of  Machine  Drilling; 
VI,  Steam,  Compressed  Air  and  Other  Power  Plants ;  VII,  Cable 
Drills,  Well  Drills,  Augers  and  Cost  Data;  VIII,  Core  Drills;  IX, 
Explosives;  X,  Charging  and  Firing;  XI,  Methods  of  Blasting;  XII, 
Loading  and  Transporting  Rock;  XIII,  Quarrying  Dimension  Stone; 
XIV,  Open  Cut  Excavation  in  Quarries,  Pits  and  Mines;  XV,  Rail- 
road Rock  Excavation  and  Boulder  Blasting;  XVI,  Canal  Excavation; 
XVII,  Trench  Work;  XVIII,   Sub-Aqueous  Rock  Excavation. 

HANDBOOK  OF  EARTH  EXCAVATION,  METHODS  AND  COST 

By  Halbert  P.  Gillette 

Ready    June,    1917 

Handbook  size  and  binding,   over   800  pages,   illustrated    $5.00 

A  complete  history  and  encyclopedia  in  modern  earth  moving  meth- 
ods, with  detailed  costs  for  the  different  methods  and  equipment 
used. 

CLARK  BOOK  CO.,  INC.,  27  William  Street,  New  York  City 

403 


Chapters:  Properties  of  Earth,  Measurement  and  Classification, 
Boring  and  Sounding,  Clearing  and  Grubbing,  Loosening  and  Shovel- 
ing, Wheelbarrows,  Carts,  Wagons,  etc..  Scrapers  and  Graders,  Cars, 
Steam  Shovel  Work,  Bucket  Excavation,  Cableways  and  Conveyors, 
Trenching  by  Hand,  by  Machinery,  Ditches  and  Canals,  Embank- 
ments, Earth  Dams  and  Levees,  Dredging,  Hydraulic  Excavation, 
Miscellaneous. 

HANDBOOK   OF   CONSTRUCTION  PLANT 
By    Richard    T.    Dana,    Consulting    Engineer,    Mem.    Am.    Soc.    C.    E., 
Mem.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Mem.  Am.   Soc.  Eng.  Contr.,  Mem.  Gillette  & 
Dana,  Appraisal  Engineers 

4%  X  7.    Flexible    Leather,    700    pages    $5.00 

Engineering  Record:  "Much  valuable  data  are  given  as  to  the 
cost  of  operation  of  certain  types  of  machinery — they  furnish  prac- 
tically the  first  published  basis  for  selecting  machinery." 

The  Ajnerican  City:  ''Mr.  Dana's  volume  gives  the  information 
most  necessary  to  engineers  in  making  estimates  of  construction 
costs  and   in   executing  plans." 

The  Excavating  Engineer:  "Undoubtedly  the  most  complete  hand- 
book of  construction  plant  ever  published.  Every  conceivable  type 
of  machinery  and  equipment." 

Concrete  Cement  Age:  "The  descriptions  include  practically 
every  type  of  equipment,  as  well  as  cost  data." 

"Railway  Review:  "...  presenting  between  two  covers  that 
which  the  engineer  often  searches  through  masses  of  trade  catalogues 
and   stacks   of   card  index  files  to  find." 

The  National  Builder:  "Many  machines,  appliances,  methods  and 
contrivances  the  ordinary  contractor  knows  but  little  about  are  here 
fully  described  and  illustrated." 

COST    KEEPING    AND    MANAGEMENT    ENGINEERING 

By  H.  P.  Gillette,  Consulting  Engineer,  Mem.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  Am. 
Soc.  M,  E.,  and  Richard  T.  Dana,  Consulting  Engineer,  Mem. 
Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  Am.  Inst.  M.  E.,  Am.  Soc.  Eng.  Contr.,  Mem. 
Gillette  &  Dana,  Appraisal  Engineers 

Cloth,     6x9    inches.     350    pages     $3.50 

This  work  is  to  the  construction  engineer  what  Taylor's  "Shop 
Management"  and  "Principles  of  Scientific  Management"  are  to 
the   shop    foreman   and    superintendent. 

Complete  Chapter  Headings 
I,  The  Ten  Laws  of  Management;  II.  Rules  for  Securing  Mini- 
mum Cost;  III,  Piece  Rate.  Bonus  and  Other  Systems  of  Payment; 
IV,  Measuring  the  Output  of  Workmen;  V,  Cost  Keeping:  YI,  Office 
Appliances  and  Methods;  VII,  Bookkeeping  for  Small  Contractors; 
VIII,  Miscellaneous  Cost  Report  Blanks  and  Systems  of  Cost  Keeping. 

SURVEYORS'  HANDBOOK 

By  T.  U.  Taylor 

Leather.    328    pages,    illustrated     $2.00 

Describes  the  instruments,  their  care  and  adjustment,  and  the 
methods  practiced  in  making  surveys  of  all  kinds.  Extensive  tables 
are   given   to   facilitate   calculations. 

Chapter  Headings 

Chain  Surveying;  Compass  Surveying;  Transit  Survey;  Calcula- 
tion of  Areas;  Division  of  Land;  Leveling;  Topographic  Survey; 
Railroad  Survey;  Earthwork;  City  Surveying;  Plotting  and  Letter- 
ing; Government  Surveying;  Trigonometric  Formulas;  Tables,  etc., 
etc. 

CLARK  BOOK  CO.,  INC.,  27  William  Street,  New  York  City 

404 


STRUCTURAL  ENGINEERING 

By  J.  E.  Kirkham,  Prof.  Civil  Engineering,  Iowa  State  College,  Con- 
sulting Bridge  Engineer,  Iowa  Highway  Commission.  Formerly 
Designing  Engineer  with  American  Bridge  Co. 

Cloth,   6x9,   675  pages,   452  illustrations,   3  plates    $5.00 

Nothing  but  elementary  mathematics  is  presupposed.  As  the  au- 
thor says  in  his  preface,  the  book  was  designed  to  be  understood 
without   the   aid   of  a  library  of  reference   works. 

There  are  fourteen  chapters  as  follows:  I,  Preliminary;  II, 
Structural  Drafting;  III,  Fundamental  Elements;  IV,  Theoretical 
Treatment  of  Beams ;  V,  Theoretical  Treatment  of  Columns ;  VI, 
Rivets,  Pins,  Rollers  and  Shafting;  VII,  Maximum  Reactions;  VIII, 
Graphic  Statics;  IX,  Influence  Lines;  X,  Descriptions  of  I-Beams 
and  Plate  Girders ;  XI,  Design  of  Simple  Railway  Bridges ;  XII,  De- 
sign of  Simple  Highway  Bridges;  XIII,  Skew  Bridges;  XIV,  Design 
of   Buildings. 

MELAN'S   THEORY   OF   ARCHES   AND    SUSPENSION   BRIDGES 

Translated  by  D.  B.  Steinman,  C.  E.  Ph.D.,  Prof,  of  Civil  Engineer- 
ing, Univ.  Idaho,  author  of  "Suspension  Bridges  and  Cantilevers" 

Cloth,    6x9,    310   pages,    120    illustrations    $3.00 

This  is  a  complete,  authorized  translation  of  Professor  Melan's 
masterpiece   on   the   theory   of   arches. 

Contents 

The  Flexible  Arch  and  the  Unstiffened  Cable;  The  Stiffened  Sus- 
pension Bridge;  The  Arched  Rib  (the  Three  Hinged  Arch,  Arched 
Rib  with  End  Hinges,  Arched  Rib  without  Hinges,  The  Cantilever 
Arch,  the  Continuous  Arch)  ;  Arch  and  Suspension  Systems  with 
Braced  Web ;  X'ombined  Systems;  Appendix — The  Elastic  Theory 
Applied  to  Masonry  and  Concrete  Arches,  Temperature  Variation  in 
Steel  and  Masonry  Bridges. 

DIAGRAMS  FOR  THE  DESIGN  OF  REINFORCED   CONCRETE 

STRUCTURES 

By  G.   F.   Dodge 

Cloth,    15%  X  121/^,    112    pages,    43    diagrams $4.00 

Founded  on  diagrams  prepared  by  the  author  for  his  own  use 
when  employed  as  a  designing  engineer  for  a  reinforcing  company. 
No  experience  in  mathematics  required  by  those  who  do  their  de- 
signing from  this   book. 

MILL   BUILDINGS 
DESIGN    AND    CONSTRUCTION 

With  Chapters  comparing  the  costs  of  steel,  wood  and  concrete  build- 
ings, and  on  exporting  steel  buildings 

By  Henry  Grattan  Tyrrell,  C.  E.,  author  of  Mill  Building  Construc- 
tion, Concrete  Bridges  and  Culverts,  History  of  Bridge  En- 
gineering, Artistic  Bridge  Design,  etc. 

Cloth,    6x9,    490    pages,    652    illustrations,    with    chapter    com- 
paring wood,   steel  and   concrete  buildings    $4.00 

Chapter  Headings 

General  Features  and  Requirements  of  Economic  Design;  Location 
and  Site ;  Purpose  and  Arrangement ;  Number  of  Stories ;  Walls ; 
Cost  of  Steel  Buildings ;  Comparative  Cost  of  Wood,  Steel  and  Con- 
crete Buildings;  Roof  Covering  and  Drainage;  Lighting  and  Ventilat- 
ing; Static  Roof  Loads;  Floor  Loads;  Snow  and  Wind  Loads;  Crane 
and   Miscellaneous   Loads;    Steel    Framing;    Wood   Framing;    Concrete 

CLARK  BOOK  CO.,  INC.,  27  William  Street,  New  York  City 

405 


Framing;  Northern  Light  Roof  Framing:  Foundations  and  Anchor- 
ages; Wall  Details;  Ground  Floors;  Upper  Floors;  Metal  Arch 
Floors;  Roofs,  Non-Waterproof;  Roofings,  Tile,  Slate,  Asbestos,  Slate, 
Wood,  Composition  Roofing;  Corrugated  Iron;  Sheet  Metal  Roofing; 
Cornices,  Gutters  and  Downspouts;  Ventilators.  Glass,  Skylights, 
Windows;  Monitor  Windows,  Doors;  Factory  Foot  Bridges;  Paint, 
Painting;  Painting  Specifications  for  Structural  Steel  Work;  En- 
gineering Department;  Estimating  the  Quantities;  Estimating  the 
Costs;  Approximate  Estimating  Prices;  The  Drafting  Office;  Organiza- 
tion of  Drafting  Office;  Drafting  Office  Practice;  Cost  of  Structural 
Work   Shop   Drawings;    Directions  for  Exporting   Steel  Buildings. 

ARTISTIC   BRIDGE   DESIGN 

By  Henry  Grattan  Tyrrel,  C.  E.,  author  of  Mill  Building  Construc- 
tion, Concrete  Bridges  and  Culverts,  History  of  Bridge  En- 
gineering,  and   Mill   Buildings. 

Cloth,    6 14  X  9 1/4 ,    290    pages,    illustrated    $3.00 

Designed    to    help    the    engineer    or    architect    to    combine    beauty, 

utility  and   economy  in  his  work. 

The   work   is    divided    as    follows :      Principles   of   Design ;    Ordinary 

Steel     Structures;     Cantilever     Bridges;     Metal     Arches;     Suspension 

Bridges;    Masonry  Bridges;    Illustrations   and  Descriptions. 

These    last    are    taken    from    representative    structures    all    over    the 

world,  covering  the  general  classes  mentioned  above  and  alone  justify 

the  book. 

FIELD    SYSTEM 

By   Frank   B.    Gilbreth 

Handbook    size   and   binding,    200   pages    $3.00 

Mr.  Gilbreth  made  the  "Cost-plus-a-fixed-sum"  contract  famous. 
This  "Field  System"  is  the  book  of  instructions  issued  to  all  his 
foremen,  superintendents ;  time  and  material  clerks,  accounting  de- 
partments,   etc.     Valuable  rules   for  running   a  job. 

STITEL   BRIDGE    DESIGNING 
By  Melville  B.  Wells,   C.  E.,  Assoc.  Prof.  Bridge  &   Struc.  Eng.,  Ar- 
mour  Inst.    Technology 
Cloth,  6x9  inches,  250  pages,  47  illustrations,  27  folding  plates  $2.50 

Chapter  Headings 

Engineers'  Work  and  Contracts,  Bridge  Manufacture;  Rivets;  the 
Design  of  a  Roof  Truss;  Types  and  Details  of  Highway  Bridges;  De- 
sign of  a  Riveted  Truss  Highway  Bridge ;  Types  and  Details  of 
Railway  Bridges;  Design  of  a  Plate  Girder  Railroad  Bridge;  Design 
of  a  Riveted  Truss  Railroad  Bridge:  A  Pin  Connected  Bridge;  Shop 
Drawings;    Strength   of   Materials;    Bibliography;    Specifications. 

CONCRETE  CONSTRUCTION,  METHODS  AND  COST 

By  H.  P.   Gillette,  Consulting  Engineer,  and  Charles  S.  Hill,  Associ- 
ate Editor  of  Engineering  and  Contracting 

6  V2  X  9  % ,   cloth,   690  pages    $5.00 

Devoted  to  the  economics  of  concrete  for  the  builder  of  concrete 
structures.  The  authors  are  constantly  in  touch  with  the  best  and 
cheapest  methods  of  concrete  construction;  Mr.  Gillette,  through  his 
field  work,  and  Mr.  Hill,  as  editor  of  Engineering  and  Contracting. 

CHAPTERS: — Methods  and  Cost  of  Selecting  and  Preparing  Ma- 
terials for  Concrete;  Theory  and  Practice  of  Proportioning  Concrete; 
Making  and  Placing  Concrete  by  Hand:  Making  and  Placing  Concrete 
by    Machine;    Depositing    Concrete    Under    Water    and    of    Subaqueous 

CLARK  BOOK  CO..  INC..  27  William  Street.  New  York  City 

406 


Grouting;  Making  and  Using  Rubble  and  Asphaltic  Concrete;  Laying 
Concrete  in  Freezing  Weather;  Finishing  Concrete  Surfaces;  Form 
Constru-ction ;  Concrete  Pile  and  Pier  Construction;  Heavy  Concrete 
Work  in  Fortifications,  Locks,  Dams,  Breakwaters  and  Piers;  Con- 
structing Bridge  Piers  and  Abutments;  Constructing  Retaining  Walls; 
Constructing  Concrete  Foundations  for  Pavement;  Constructing  Side- 
walks, Pavements,  Curbs  and  Gutters;  Lining  Tunnels  and  Subways; 
Constructing  Arch  and  Girder  Bridges ;  Culvert  Construction ;  Re- 
inforced Concrete  Building  Construction;  Building  Construction  of 
Separately  Molded  Members;  Aqueduct  and  Sewer  Construction;  Con- 
structing Reservoirs  and  Tanks;  Constructing  Ornamental  Work; 
Miscellaneous  Methods  and  Costs ;  Waterproofing  Concrete  Structures. 

ENGINEERS'    POCKETBOOK  OF  REINFORCED   CONCRETE 
By  E.  Lee  Heidenreich,  Mem.  Am.  Soc.  Test.  Materials;  M.  W.  S.  E.; 

Mem.  Am.  Inst.  Miu.  Eng. 
Flexible   leather,    374  pages,    4i^x6%    inches,    80    tables,    illus- 
trated     $3.00 

Chapter  Headings 

Materials  and  Machines  Used  in  Concrete  Construction;  Design  and 
Construction  of  Buildings;  Design  and  Construction  of  Bridges; 
Abutments  and  Retaining  Walls ;  Culverts,  Conduits,  Sewers,  Pipes 
and  Dams;  Tanks,  Reservoirs,  Bins  and  Grain  Elevators;  Chimneys, 
Miscellaneous   Data. 

BRICKLAYING   SYSTEM 

By  Frank  B.  Gilbreth,  Mem.  Am.   Soc.  M.  E. 

Cloth,  6x9  inches,  330  pages,  167  illustrations,  73  bond  charts  $3.00 
This   book  was   written   by   one   of   the   largest   general   contractors 
in  New  York,  for  his  own  foremen  and  superintendents,  but  is  vastly 
more  than  a  mere  rule  book. 

Chapter  Headings 

Training  Apprentices;  Methods  of  Management;  Methods  of  Con- 
struction; Routing  of  Material;  Scaffold,  the  Gilbreth  Scaffold,  Hod 
Type;  the  Gilbreth  Scaffold,  Packet  Type;  the  Gilbreth  Packet 
System;  Method  of  Building  Tall  Chimneys;  Mortar;  Bricks;  Brick- 
layers' Tools,  etc.;  Lines,  Plumbs  and  Poles;  Motion  Study;  Methods 
of  Laying  Brick  Under  Special  Conditions;  Finishing,  Jointing  and 
Pointing;  Arches  and  Chimney  Breasts;  Tearing  Down,  Cutting  Out 
and  Patching  Brickwork;    Bond. 

INSPECTION    OF    CONCRETE    CONSTRUCTION 

By  Jerome  Cochran 

Cloth,    6x9,    595   pages,    illustrated    $4.00 

Covers  over  200  different  special  subjects  under  concrete,  elab- 
orately indexed  for  quick  reference.  An  encyclopedia  for  the  in- 
spector,  engineer,   superintendent  or  foreman  on  concrete  work. 

Chapter  Headings 

Inspection  of  Hydraulic  Cement;  Inspection  of  Sand,  Stone,  etc.; 
Inspection  of  Proportioning  and  Mixing;  Inspection  of  Forms,  Molds, 
Centering,  etc.;  Inspection  of  Steel  Reinforcement;  Inspection  of 
Concreting;  Inspection  of  Surface  Finishes;  Inspection  of  Water- 
proofing; Inspection  of  Sidewalks,  Curbs  and  Pavements;  Inspection 
of  Ornamental  Work,  Blocks,  etc. ;  Inspection  of  Molding  and  Driv- 
ing Concrete   Piles;    Definition  of   Terms,   List  of  Authorities,    Index. 

CLARK  BOOK  CO.,  INC.,  27  William  Street,  New  York  City 

407 


CONCRETE  AND  REINFORCED  CONCRETE  CONSTRUCTION 

By  Homer  A.  Reid,  Assoc.  M.  Am.   Soc.  C.  E.  Asst.  Eng.,  Bureau  of 

Bldgs.,  N.  Y. 

Cloth,    6x9   inches.    906   pages,    70   tables,    715   illustrations    ...$5.00 
A    book   of   almost   a   thousand   pages   on   concrete   design    and    con- 
struction. 

Contents 

Historical  Use  and  Development  of  Cement  and  Concrete;  Classi- 
fication and  Manufacture  of  Cement;  Properties  of  Cement  and  Meth- 
ods of  Testing;  Sand,  Broken  Stone,  and  Gravel;  Proportioning 
Concrete;  Mixing  Concrete;  Placing  Concrete;  Cost  of  Concrete; 
Finishing  Concrete  Surfaces;  General  Physical  Properties;  The  Gen- 
eral Elastic  Properties  of  Concrete;  Physical  Properties  of  Rein- 
forcing Metals;  Principles  and  Disposition  of  Reinforcement;  Me- 
chanical Bond;  Styles  of  Slab  Reinforcement;  Styles  of  Beam  Re- 
inforcement; Curved  Pieces  Strained  in  Flexure;  Columns,  Walls 
and  Pipes;  General  Phenomena  of  Flexure;  Theory  of  Beams;  Vari- 
ous Beam  Theories;  Theory  of  Columns;  Foundations;  General  Build- 
ing Construction;  Practical  Construction;  Retaining  Walls;  Dams; 
Conduits  and  Sewers ;  Tank  and  Reservoir  Construction ;  Chimneys, 
Tunnels,  Subways,  Railroad  Ties,  Fence  Posts,  Piers  and  Wharves; 
Concrete  in  Bridge  Construction;  Arch  Bridge  Centers  and  Methods 
of  Construction;  Bridge  Floors;  Bridges,  Piers  and  Abutments;  Con- 
crete Building  Blocks. 

THEORY  AND  DESIGN  OF  CONCRETE  ARCHES 

By  Arvid  Reuterdahl 

Cloth,    6  X  9,    132    pages     $2.00 

Every  principle  of  concrete  arch  design  is  explained  thoroughly — 
there   are  no  missing   steps   in   the   mathematics. 

Engineering  News  says:  ''For  the  student  who  wishes  to  get  in 
one  book  the  whole  theory,  to  its  minutest  details,  of  the  reinforced 
concrete  arch,  and  who  is  not  over-awed  by  a  succession  of  formula- 
filled  pages,  we  can  commend  this  book.  For  any  beginner  in  the 
designs    of    such    bridges,    the    latter    part    will    prove    most    useful." 

PRACTICAL   CEMENT    TESTING 

By   W.    Purves    Taylor 

Cloth,   6x9   inches,   330  pages,   58  tables,   142  illustrations    ....$3.00 
Adopted  by  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  technical  schools. 
Especially    valuable    in    the    instructions    on    interpreting    results    of 
tests. 

Contents 

Classification  and  Statistics,  Composition  and  Constitution;  Manu- 
facture, Inspection  and  Sampling;  The  Testing  of  Cement;  Specific 
Gravity;  Fineness,  Time  of  Setting;  Tensile  Strength;  Soundness; 
Chemical  Analysis;  Special  Tests;  Approximate  Tests;  Practical  Op- 
eration; Other  Varieties  of  Cement;  Specifications;  Appendices  Giv- 
ing A.  S.  C.  E.,  N.  Y.  Section,  Society  for  Chemical  Industry, 
A.  S.  T.  M.,  U.  S.  Army,  British  and  Canadian  Methods  of  Testing 
and   Specifications. 

CIVIL    ENGINEERS'    POCKET    BOOK 

By  Albert  I.  Frye 

Handbook  size,  leather,   1600  pages,   illustrated    $5.00 

This  is  the  encyclopedia  of  civil  engineering,  as  may  be  seen  from 
the  table  of  contents : 

Mathematics;  Mechanics;  Stresses  in  Structures:  Materials;  Ex- 
plosives; Preservatives:  Lumber  and  Lumbering;  Building  Stones  and 

CLARK  BOOK  CO.,  INC.,  27  William  Street,  New  York  City 

408 


Cements ;  Quarrying ;  Stone  Cutting  Masonry ;  Stereotomy ;  Weights 
of  Materials;  Strength  of  Materials;  Properties  of  Plane  Surfaces; 
Properties  and  Tables  of  Steel  Shapes;  Beams  and  Girders;  Columns; 
Structural  Details;  Metal  Gages;  Cordage;  Wire  and  Cables;  Pipes 
and  Tubes ;  Railway  Bridges ;  Electric  Railway  Bridges ;  Highway 
Bridges;  Cantilever  Bridges;  Movable  Bridges;  Suspension  Bridges; 
Arches;  Trestles;  Roofs;  Buildings;  Retaining  Walls;  Dams;  Founda- 
tions; Wharves,  Piers  and  Docks;  Breakwaters;  Jetties;  Earthwork; 
Rock  Excavations;  Dredging;  Tunneling;  Surveying;  Mapping  and 
Leveling;  Railroads;  Highways;  Hydrostatics;  Hydraulics;  Water 
Supply ;  Water  Works ;  Sanitation ;  Irrigation ;  Waterways ;  Water 
Power;  Steam  and  Gas  Power;  Electric  Power  and  Lighting;  Mis- 
cellaneous Data  and  Illustrations,  all  completely  indexed,  a  total 
of  1600  pages, 

CONCRETE  BRIDGES  AND  CULVERTS 

By  Henry  Grattan  Tyrrell,   C.  E. 

Flexible    leather,    41/2x6%     (handbook    size),    272    pages     ....$3.00 
A    handbook    on    the    design    and    construction    of    concrete    bridges, 
in  which  the  simplest  and  easiest  formulte  have  been  used,   and  only 
those  actually  necessary  in  the  design  of  these  structures. 

Contents 

Plain  Concrete  Arch  Bridges;  Reinforced  Concrete  Arch  Bridges; 
Highway   Beam   Bridges;    Concrete  Culverts   and   Trestles. 

MILITARY   PREPAREDNESS   AND    THE    ENGINEER 

By  Capt.  E.  F.  Robinson,  Corps  of  Engineers,  N.  G.  N.  Y. 
Handbook   size   and   binding,    224  pages,    illustrated    $1.50 

"~^^  Chapters 

How  to  Obtain  Military  Training;  The  National  Guard;  Military 
Action;  Field  Fortifications;  Obstacles;  Siege  Works;  Demolitions; 
Organization;  Administration;  Engineer  Troops  in  the  Field;  Fire 
Military  Bridges;  Topographical  Sketching;  Needs  of  the  Engineers 
in  War;  Bibliography;  Reading  Matter  for  Civilian  Engineers;  Prop- 
erty Carried   by   a  Company  of  Engineers   in  the  Field. 

BACKBONE    OF    PERSPECTIVE 
By  T.  U.  Taylor 

Cloth,    41/^x7    inches,    56    pages,    illustrated    $1.00 

Chapter  Headings 

Primary  Methods;  Vanishing  Point  Method;  Axometric  Projections; 
Shades  and  Shadows. 

LAW    OF    CONTRACT 
By  Alexander  Haring 

Cloth,     6x9,    510    pages     $4.00 

Engineers    and    contractors,    with    the    guidance    of    this    book,    may 

save   themselves   disastrous  losses  by  litigation   or  legal   fees. 

The    rules    of    law    in    each    chapter    are    illustrated    by    cases    from 

practice,    and    opinions    from    cases    of    engineering    litigations.      The 

chapters   are:    The   Contract;    Its   Inherent   Elements;    Its   Formation; 

Parties    Affected ;    Its    Interpretation ;    Its    Discharge. 

CLARK  BOOK  CO.,  INC.,  27  William  Street,  New  York  City 

409 


it; 


GRAPHIC   STATICS 

By  Charles  W.  Malcolm,  C.  E.,  Asst,  Prof.  Structural  Engineering, 
University  of  111.;  Assoc.  Mem.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  and  Soc.  for 
Promotion  of  Engineering  Education 

Cloth,    6x9   inches,    330   pages,    155   drawings    $3.00 

A  book  for  the  designer  and  draughtsman,  any  one  in  structural 
work,  in  fact,  who  desires  a  knowledge  of  the  ijrinciples  back  of 
structural  design. 

The  four  parts   of  the  text   are: 

I,  General  Principles;  II,  Framed  Structures,  Roof  Trusses;  III, 
Beams;   IV,   Bridges. 

LAND   DRAINAGE 

By  J.   L.   Parsons,   Assoc.   Mem.   W.    S.   E. 

Cloth,    6x9,    195    pages,    32    figures    $1.50 

Contents 

Preliminary  Drainage  Surveys;  The  Design  of  Tile  Drains;  Tile 
Drain  Outlet  Walls  and  Inlets ;  Design  and  Maintenance  of  Open 
Drains;  Plans,  Reports  and  Records;  The  Estimate  of  Costs  of 
Drainage  Systems;  The  Preparation  and  Enforcement  of  Drainage 
Specifications;  The  Division  of  Costs  of  Drainage  Systems;  The  Qual- 
ity and  Inspection  of  Drain  Tile. 

Twenty-two   tables   and    36   illustrations. 

TRANSLUCENT    CROSS    SECTION   PAPER,    THAT   CAN   BE    BLUE 

PRINTED 

Something  every  engineer,  architect,  contractor  and  business  of- 
ficial should  have  for  plotting  curves  and  charts  and  for  keeping 
daily,  weekly  or  monthly  records  of  performance,  income,  expenses, 
etc. 

This  paper  is  put  up  in  pads  of  100  sheets  each,  size  over-all, 
8^/^  x  11  inches,  so  that  it  may  be  filed  with  standard  correspondence. 

There  is  a  binding  edge  which  may  be  punched  to  fit  any  of  the 
standard  loose-leaf  binders.  This  makes  it  especially  handy  where 
it  is  desired  to  keep  all  records  together  for  easy  reference. 

The  ruling  is  in  green,  with  heavier  division  lines  at  the  quarters, 
halves  and  inches.  And  it  can  be  blue  printed.  Good  prints  may 
be  made  from  either  ink  or  pencil  drawings  and  also  from  type- 
writing, especially  if  a  piece  of  carbon  paper  is  placed  over  the  back 
of   the   translucent   sheet   so  that  an   extra   heavy   imprint   is   made. 

We  have  this  paper  in  4,  5,  6,  10,  12,  16  and  20  divisions  to 
the   inch,   also  logarithmic   and   semi-logarithmic  rulings. 

The  price  of  each  kind  is  $1.00  per  pad  of  100  sheets  each  or 
$10.00  per  dozen  pads. 

If  you  try  it  once  you  will  never  be  without  it.  Include  an  order 
for   a   trial   pad   when   you   send   us   your   order   for   books. 


Send  for  a  copy  of  our  Catalogue  of  182  Indispensable  Engineering 
Books,  selected  with  the  aid  of  practical  engineers  of  note  all  over 
the  United  States,  to  800  of  whom  we  sent  letters  requesting  that 
they  specify  what  books  they  considered  indispensable,  regardless 
of  who  were  the  publishers.  A  request  on  a  post-card  signed  with 
your  name  will   bring   it. 

CLARK  BOOK  CO.,  INC.,  27  William  Street,  New  York  City 

410 


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